Chanting to the Gohonzon and praying the Psalms

Español: Este es un Gohonzon inscripto por el mismo Nichieren en 1280 para su discipulo Nissho; etse estilo de Gohonzon es llamado Ichinen Sanzen Gohonzon (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Yes.

So now that I've confirmed you read the title correctly, here is a quote from an article by Sandy McIntosh titled "As American As Apple Pie?" that appeared in a 1992 in the Winter 1992 issue of Tricycle magazine:

The liturgy of gongyo encourages one to clear the mind of wishes, anxieties, and other distracting thoughts so that when it is time to chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo (the most important part of the practice) the mind will be sufficiently stilled to concentrate on the Gohonzon. The goal of this "assiduous practice" is the fusion of one's mind with the reality of the Gohonzon—it means reading the Chinese characters not simply with one's eyes but "with one's life"—through chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo.

 ...

I had friends who started off chanting for cheaper drugs and free money. Like them, I treated the Gohonzon as a pimp. I wanted to see if chanting would work. I set about praying for things (a summer job, a girlfriend, even a good parking spot) that would fill immediate needs or give instant pleasure. Some things I got; others I didn't. The things I really needed-such as better relationships with people and with myself-eluded me. Nevertheless, I continued to chant. Gradually, my interest in shortterm material benefits was displaced by a hunger for longerterm spiritual ones. I found that chanting incessantly about difficult personal problems, like polishing a mirror, brought clarity to my situation. The more difficult or painful the motivation for my chanting, the clearer the mirror of my faith reflected my ownership of whatever troubled me. I could no longer deny the responsibility for my predicaments. In my experience, the activity of chanting for material or spiritual things becomes a process of cleansing one's spirit, not corrupting it; and Buddhists who began by chanting for hotter cars ended up driven to awaken themselves and help others, at times with great energy and joy. 

This was published not long after the bitter split between Nichiren Shoshu and the Soka Gakkai, so it is relevant to the perspectives of people in both camps at that time. The whole "chanting for stuff" issue has been debated many times in various venues and forums, with the above as an example of a pro-chanting for stuff argument that has been developed and polished over the years. It is akin to petitionary prayer in theism.

The point of similarity I wish to make between that and chanting or singing or just reading the Psalms as prayer early in the Daily or Divine Office is one of clearing the air, getting out what is most distracting you by way of engendering fear, anger, lust, or despair. I think the Psalms, along with prayers for specific personalized petitions, might serve a function similar to what McIntosh and others have described. You pour out your heart to make room the the divine, whether that is conceptualized as God or Buddha-nature or the Buddha-dharma (rendered in Nichiren Shoshu and the Soka Gakkai as the "Mystic Law").

I would not be surprised to find parallels in other forms of Buddhism or in non-Buddhist traditions. I suppose it does make a certain kind of sense. One problem I have with the Psalms though is that they may not really reflect the state I am in and therefore not really act as a way to clarify it. I suppose it could be seen as a way to practice sympathy and solidarity with others, although as I understand it that is not the point of praying them, but really it just makes me bored, sad, irritated, or judgmental.

Dhamma-nating the Conversation, part IV: Liberating the Conversation

This is the fourth and final installment of my brief review of Nichiren Buddhism. If you are interested, please read part 1, part 2, and part 3 if you are not up to speed on what I have already covered. I am not an expert or an established practioner of this form of Buddhism, so please forgive any errors. On the other hand, for those who are experts and/or established practioners of Nichiren Buddhism, this is a chance to see how it can look to other people and may assist in mutual understanding with people from other traditions.

Liberating the Conversation

Previously, I wrote:

If one takes seriously the injunction not to seek this Dharma, and by association enlightenment, outside of oneself, and if it does permeate the universe, then shouldn't a sincere practitioner of such a Dharma be able to "see it" expressed everywhere, even if not confined to a particular form such a scroll or a sound? Perhaps one may feel that Nichiren gave such a Dharma its most direct or potent expression, but after all, can something one believes is so pervasive and essential be limited to any particular manifestation of form? Can such a sincere person not here nam-myo-ho-renge-kyo in the silent meditation of Zen, or in the visualization of Chenrizig during Tibetan pujas, or even in a soulful rendition of "Amazing Grace"? Isn't sharing the insight of the Lotus Sutra helping others to find this principle, and if so, must those dedicated to doing so not "find it" themselves however it may express itself in a particular culture?

Here "the injunction" is referring back to an oft-cited quote by Nichiren. I realize that I may be poking some sensitive areas with a stick for some people, even though that is not my intention, and since such actions can provoke people to anger regardless of their intentionality, I again apologize for any such antagonism.

Given that I am not a strict traditionalist, modernist, or post-modernist when it comes to society, culture, meaning, and that which simultaneously involves all three in a direct and powerful way, such as religion, the quote above should come as little surprise. [previous examples of my thinking on such themes can be found here, and there, and definitely here and here, and ahh heck, there too]. That is, I am not talking about "cleaning up" Nichiren Buddhism to make it appear acceptable to modern Western standards, but rather re-framing it so that the principles and teachings are accessible to a different time and culture. Hence the need to understand the context of Nichiren's life and yet not be bound by it. That doesn't mean chanting the Daimoku in English, or dismissing mythological imagery, etc.

One might naturally ask, "Yes, that's all well and good, but why do you care?"

Well, as indicated by this history of this site, I have attempted to learn from many traditions, Buddhist and otherwise, and have discussed many forms such as Zen, Pure Land, etc. Moreover, while I had read the Dhammapada and looked into Buddhism, I never really gave it much serious consideration until I met a practicing Nichiren Buddhist online who was defending religious liberty, the science of evolution, and other issues that were of importance to me personally. He had a knack for weaving poetic simplicity and an unapologetic enthusiasm into his descriptions about life and meaning that was inspiring. So, the first form of Buddhism that I looked into when I considered giving it a try was Nichiren Buddhism, though I did not go so far as to established a regular practice with it. Partly this was because its representatives online and in books seemed to make such a fuss over criticizing the other Buddhist traditions, which then provoked me to learn more about those other traditions and Buddhism in general. In a sense then I have come full circle, having surveyed the landscape I am better able to incoorporate my own experiences of what might be useful or beneficial in other traditions, which is especially useful given my interest in interfaith and interspiritual dialog and understanding.

I cannot say to what degree various Nichiren Buddhists would agree or disagree with what I have written. Maybe one third would agree with half of what I said, or perhaps one eight might agree with one tenth of what I have said. Who can tell? Nor is it my goal to generate such agreement. If it occurs, that is fine. I have liberated my own conception of what Nichiren Buddhism is and what it can be, but I cannot and would not wish to impose my views on others. I simply wanted to share them in case they may be of use to others.