In the Gosho, the "Shoho Jisso Sho", "The True Aspect of All Phenomena" [WND, p.383], Nichiren Daishonin gives a concise but complete description of Buddhist faith and practice. He says:

In this letter, I have written my most important teachings. Grasp their meaning firmly, and make them a part of your life. Believe in the Gohonzon, the supreme object of devotion in all of Jambudvipa. Be sure to strengthen your faith, and receive the protection of Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and the Buddhas of the ten directions. Exert yourself in the two ways of
practice and study. Without practice and study there can be no Buddhism. You must not only persevere yourself, you must also teach others. Both practice and study arise from faith. Teach others to the best of your ability, even if it is only a single sentence or phrase.
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

With my deep respect,
Nichiren [WND, p. 386]

"Shin, gyo and gaku", "faith, practice and study", is the foundation of the Daishonin's Buddhism. It is the "formula" for activating the Buddha potential within our life.

Faith, practice and study are directed both toward oneself and others. This is called "jigyo keta", "practice for oneself and others". It is the engine that drives our human revolution.

According to Nichiren Daishonin in one letter to a follower, the fact that we are Buddhas or that we can attain Buddhahood "is nothing extraordinary."[Letter to Nikke, WND, p. 1030] [1]

In the same way perhaps, the cycle of birth and death and the principle of constant change ("truth of non-substantiality") could also be considered not extraordinary. This is simply the nature of life.

What is extraordinary however is how we use our Buddha potential, how we live our lives and how we change. In one sense, the provisional teachings taught Buddhahood, in one form or another, as the ultimate goal.

However, in the Lotus Sutra and then as actualized by Nichiren Daishonin, being
a Buddha is not the destination, it is in fact the first step.

One of the prime points of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism is that "faith equals daily life"; gongyo activates our Buddha nature and then we plunge into the reality of daily-life with Buddhahood as our basic tendency.One good example of this is the encouragement that an important goal to strive for in faith is to begin each day brimming with vigor and resolve, day after day, month after month and year after year. In fact, gongyo gives us exactly this opportunity. Furthermore, this is precisely how we change our lives.The point is that happiness or unhappiness arise from the way that we actually live. It is when we choose to practice Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism in such a way as to benefit others as well as ourselves that we truly begin to create value and build our own lasting happiness, In the "Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra" study dialgoue, President Ikeda says:

Ikeda: When we look after and care for others--that is, help others draw forth the strength to live--our own strength to live increases. When we help people expand their state of life, our lives also expand. This is the marvel of the Bodhisattva path; actions to benefit others cannot be separated from actions to benefit oneself.

Ikeda: In any event, society changes. It changes moment by moment. Politics, economics, fads--everything in the world undergoes change. The issue is whether, in the midst of so much change, one possesses an unchanging "center." We have such a center in the Mystic Law ["Myoho"].

The Mystic Law is the constant, unchanging core; and it is the fundamental power causing all things to go in a positive direction. People change, but the Law does not. People can be deceived, but the Law cannot. Trying to cheat the Law is of absolutely no avail. When we base ourselves on this absolute and unchanging Law, both our lives and society prosper eternally.

Apart from the Law, everything else is, in a manner of speaking, an illusion.

After all is said and done, the most supreme way of life is that of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth who thoroughly dedicate themselves to kosen-rufu. There is no more lofty or sublime way to live. Realizing this is a matter of faith.

A Courageous Heart of Faith Is Itself Buddhahood

Saito: It is said of bodhisattvas, "Seeking enlightenment above, saving sentient beings below." From our standpoint, these correspond to practicing for oneself and practicing for others.

Ikeda: We become happy ourselves, and we help others do the same. This is analogous to the two motions of a planet, which rotates on its axis while revolving around the sun. It is a universal principle. In a sense, bodhisattvas exert themselves to help people become happy, even if it means putting off their own happiness until later. This is the spirit of the Soka Gakkai. It is a most noble way of life.

Faith is a struggle. Life is a struggle. Buddhism is a struggle. It is by waging a courageous and high-spirited struggle against "evil" that we can draw forth the states of Bodhisattva and Buddhahood from within. ["Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra", 32]

So, while becoming a Buddha may be nothing extraordinary, living like a Buddha; exerting ourselves in faith, practice and study, both for ourselves and others, is certainly an extraordinary way to live.

Footnotes:
[1]: "Letter to Nikke"

Becoming a Buddha is nothing extraordinary. If you chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with your whole heart, you will naturally become endowed with the Buddha's thirty-two features and eighty characteristics. As the sutra says, "hoping to make all persons equal to me, without any distinctions between us.[Lotus Sutra, chapter 2]" [Nichiren Daishonin, WND, p. 1030]

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