Jitai means true self, Buddhahood or enlightment. Kensho means to clearly reveal. Jitai Kensho, then, means to clearly reveal a person's true, enlightened self in the course of his daily affairs.

It is difficult to gain and maintain an inner calm and balance while wading through the currents of our social environment. Since antiquity, man has been searching for happiness outside himself. The result has been a general disillusionment with philosophy and misunderstanding of life's realities. Also, man has not been able to understand himself and establish sure guidelines for happiness.

Nichiren Daishonin stated in the Gosho, On attaining Buddhahood:
You must not seek any of the 80,000 teachings os Shakyamuni as set apart from actual life, nor should you seek any of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the universe outside yourself. Therefore, your study of Buddhism will not relieve you of sufferings unless you are able to perceive the nature of your own life. If you try to seek the way outside yourself, every kind of practice and goodness will be completely useless. For example, a poor man cannot earn a penny even if he calculates his neighbours' wealth day and night.

A person becomes happy as he understands more about himself and how he can create value. This happens as a person chants to the Gohonzon, living out the principle of Kyochi Myogo - the oneness of subject ( a person's life) and object (the Gohonzon). The result of this contact is perfect harmony with the universe. As a person uncovers his true self by fusing with the Gohonzon, he finds he is developing a refined, well-rounded character, which reflects in and improves everything in his daily life. His individuality becomes clearly defined.

The main point is that Jitai Kensho is an awakening, a revealing of man's true self or individuality. Awakening the dormant life of Buddha is like tapping the richest source contained within a person. Tapping the deposits of oil contained beneath the earth's surface is a good example. After considerable labour, the pool is struck and oil gushes to the surface, making the proprietor and many other people wealthy. An individual's self-awakening is very similar.

During a special question-and-answer session, President Ikeda talked about the unchanging nature of individuals. He said: " It is certainly true that a person's character does not fundamentally change, yet a character revolution is the result of faith in the Gohonzon. This is not contradictory as it may seem because the human revolution affects personality. It is important to have this understanding of how character is very much one's own nature and unchangeable, yet can still be enhanced for the development of one's daily life.

One's individual personality has both merits and limitations. The disparity between strength and weakness in people's personality is solely determined by the way in which the personality is revealed.

"It may not seem correct to us common people that our true aspect can be revealed in this way (by facing the Gohonzon, which acts like a mirror of life). However, it is true that far beneath our rational level is a dimension brought forth through chanting to the Gohonzon. The effect of our chanting will lead to unconscious self-knowing actions in daily life. Sincere daimoku will, while sparing mental training or deliberate self-restraint, achieve the Socratic ideal of Know thyself. At a more profound level, your behaviour will reveal, in the natural course of life, your human revolution."

Through the Buddhist principle of Jitai Kensho, each of us can realize the greatest possible life condition and manifest it into the practical benefits of human revolution. To expound this principle of supremacy of each individual's life, Nichiren Daishonin used the phrase O Bai To Ri. O means cherry, Bai plum, To peach, and Ri pear. The Gosho reads: A cherry is a cherry. A plum is a plum. A peach is a peach. A pear is a pear…. they are all supreme as they are. I Nichiren, and those who chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo can equally reveal ourselves as the True Buddha.
As is clear from this teaching, if a person continues with a sincere practice to the Gohonzon, no matter what character defects he may have,he can reveal his utmost human qualities, leaving his original personality unchanged.
People often complain of their faults to a ridiculuos degree. "I want to be a more positive person," or, "I want to be a brighter person". Of course, it is important to chant for such character improvements, but we must always remain convinced that through the Gohonzon we can and should be only ourselves and no one else.

According to the Buddhist principle of the inseparability of subject and object anyone can change his environment into an ideal one, making everything around him work for his happiness. He can enjoy every moment of his life, no matter who or where we may be, secure in his faith in the Gohonzon and in his knowledge that Buddhahood is a condition of life already within him.

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