If we could become enlightened through understanding things intellectually, the intellectuals among us would all be enlightened and others wouldn’t stand a chance. But Buddhism has nothing to do with intellectualism. The path to the actual attainment of Buddhahood begins when we perceive the true nature of our lives by awakening to the fact that we are the entities of the Mystic Law. The next step on the path is to use this understanding to transform our lives, to walk in the footsteps of the Buddha by putting into practice this law within our lives.

“If you wish to free yourself from the sufferings of birth and death, which you have endured throughout eternity and attain supreme enlightenment in this life time, you must awaken to the mystic truth, which has always been within your life. This truth is Myoho-renge-kyo. Chanting Myoho-renge-kyo will therefore enable you to grasp the mystic truth within you”. (WND p. 3)

Buddhahood itself is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Therefore, by devoting our life – Nam – to Myoho-renge-kyo, we will reveal it. Myoho-renge-kyo is the reality of life. The Lotus Sutra teaches the reality of life, and that reality of life is Myoho – the Mystic Law. Chanting Myoho-renge-kyo with this conviction will help you come to realize this. When we make the cause of fusing our lives with the Gohonzon and life’s Mystic Law while chanting daimoku, freedom from suffering is sure to be the effect that follows.

Life at each moment encompasses both body and spirit, the spiritual and the physical; shiki shin funi. This means that how we look and feel is an expression of how our mind is in the depths of our life. Life at each moment encompasses both self and environment. This is known as esho funi. Just as the state of our mind is reflected in the state of our body and how we feel, the state of our life - that is, the state of our mind and body together - is reflected in the state of what we surround ourselves with.

Our minds are reflected outwards to our body, to the environment which is the whole of this universe and ultimately, our minds effect the universe. These concepts are an integral part of the theory of ichinen sanzen, or ”Three thousand worlds in a moment of life”. Ichinen: the reality of life at each moment; one moment of life. Sanzen: 3,000 worlds. The scope of Ichinen Sanzen contains literally all of life’s aspects and workings. The Ten Worlds of Hell, Hunger, Animality, Anger, Tranquility, Rapture, Learning, Realization, Bodhisattva and Buddhahood, x the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds = 100, x The Ten Factors of Appearance, Nature, Entity, Power, Influence, Internal Cause, Relation, Latent Effect, Manifest Effect and Consistency throughout, from beginning to end =1000, x the three realms of the Self, of Society and the Environment =3000.

People tend to intellectualize about the three thousand worlds but the important thing to remember is the word ichinen. One moment of life, the reality of life at each moment. Ichinen is one of the most profound and important aspects of the Daishonin’s Buddhism. All three thousand worlds are contained within our ichinen.

"In the depths of one's being means ichinen, the reality of one's life at each moment. Our activities from moment to moment are manifestations of what we have in our ichinen, or in the depths of our hearts. In daily life we can pretend to be friendly to others while hating them inwardly. Strictly speaking however, even if we try, our behavior may betray our hearts, depending on the insights of the observer. This is especially true in the eye of Buddhism. Eventually, what you have in the depths of your mind will inevitably manifest itself." Mr. Matsuda, editor of the SGI newspaper, ‘The Tokyo Times’

One who understands that his ichinen controls his life uses it to move outward to the universe. One who doesn’t is at the mercy of external forces.

President Toda and then president Ikeda talked about the six meanings, or
the six viewpoints of ichinen:
1) ichinen does not mean just the mind or thoughts, but rather the entire psychosomatic entity of life. In other words, it's the entity of shiki shin funi, fusion of body and mind.
2) ichinen possesses both good and evil, both enlightenment and darkness.
3) ichinen does not only include the body, but the environment as well. It's the entity of esho funi, in which the sentient being and his environment are one and inseparable.
4) ichinen contains both cause and effect, indicating the simultaneous nature of cause and effect. In this case, cause means the nine worlds and effect is Buddhahood. Both the nine worlds and Buddhahood exist in the single entity of life. The act of chanting daimoku contains both the cause - faith in the Gohonzon - and the effect, chanting to the Gohonzon at the same time.
5) Through faith in the Gohonzon we can activate our Buddhanature and the power of life and the Law, moment by moment, in the highest possible life condition
6) ichinen encompasses the Oneness of the Person and the Law, inscribed at the center of the Gohonzon as ‘Nam-myoho-renge-kyo Nichiren’. The Gohonzon embodies ichinen sanzen as a concrete reality. We reveal Buddhahood through the fusion of our enlightened life with the law of the universe.

Therefore we have to awaken to this truth of ichinen in the depths of our lives. If we are going to change anything out there, we have to change our ichinen, our way of thinking. We tend to focus on sanzen, what are all these three thousand worlds? We find ourselves in the state of anger, going on and on about how we were, or are, not about how we should be. That is because we are constantly looking at sanzen and not at ichinen. Sensei once said: "Start with a conscious revolution, inevitably the other realms will change."

How much we can determine to expand the depths of our lives/ichinen really depends on the conscious determination to do so. Teachings or philosophies which externalise, or put the blame on something outside of ourselves will keep us trapped in the lower worlds. What makes us unhappy is the fact that we blame the outside when things are wrong. That is the warning, do not think this law is outside of yourself. Everything that happens to you is your life itself.

The deep conviction to perceive your Buddhanature within your own life; to believe that the Gohonzon is limitlessly powerful; that you yourself are also limitlessly powerful that it effects your mind, your body, your environment and the universe: all this stems from our ichinen. If we consciously establish passionate faith, the effect is Buddhahood. This enables us to reveal the limitless power of the Gohonzon. It almost seems too simple to be true, but if you can say to the Gohonzon, “I absolutely believe in your power”, what you mean is “I absolutely believe in my own powers of Buddhahood.”

In the Gosho 'The opening of the eyes', it says:
"If you want to understand the causes that existed in the past, look at the results as they are manifested in the present. If you want to understand the results, what results will be manifested in the future, look at causes that exist in the present."
This Gosho is saying, “Look at what your ichinen is today, that is to the future. It's yours to change, nobody else.”

Mr. Tsuji on Buddhahood: "Whatever your problem is, it can be defined as a condition of life in which your Buddhahood is hidden and covered up by your weakness. The Buddhahood of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the treasure which everyone has inherently within their life.”

It is very important that we make such a conscious revolution. Otherwise, if we think we cannot change, if we think there is no hope for us to change a certain part of us, to quote the Gosho again, "Our practice becomes an endless and painful austerity".

If you believe the Gohonzon has only a limited amount of power, then that is all the effect you are going to get. If you can believe that the Gohonzon is three times more powerful than you at this moment, believe - you can have three times more Buddhahood, three times more benefits. If you can believe it is five times more powerful, then you can have five times more benefits. That is displaying the great power of faith.

Strong and deep faith, a conscious determination to have passionate faith in the Gohonzon and thereby reveal the effect in your life. That’s the theory, let’s put it to practice!

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This page was last modified on Monday, August 21, 2006.