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Spring
Higan-e Ceremony Address Today, on this occasion of the spring higan-e ceremony, I have sincerely recited the sutras and chanted Daimoku together with you. I have also offered my heartfelt prayers for the peaceful repose of all your deceased relatives and the individuals for whom you have requested a memorial. I am truly pleased to see that you have put forth great efforts to travel long distances to attend this ceremony on a weekend day such as this. Traditionally, my sermon following the higan-e ceremony concerns the significance of making memorial offerings to the deceased. Since I always mention the importance of these memorial offerings at individual memorial services and other occasions, I would like to focus my sermon today on the attitude that we must uphold in our performance of gongyo and daimoku, the fundamental practices of Nichiren Shoshu. The performance of gongyo is an integral part of our Buddhist practice because it is, indeed, the only way in which we are able to draw forth the Buddha nature into our lives from the Gohonzon, the true entity of the Buddha’s life. The supreme life condition of Buddhahood is inherent in our lives. Regardless of our efforts, we are unable to manifest it by ourselves. For instance, imagine trying to force ourselves to draw forth the emotion of happiness, when we do not feel happy. It is impossible to manifest happiness under such a condition. However, happiness will well forth naturally when we encounter occasions such as those in which we are cured of an illness or we are promoted at work. We are only able to manifest our various inherent emotions through our bond with external factors. Similarly, in order to draw forth the Buddha nature that is inherent in our lives, we must possess a bond with an object that will enable us to do so. We cannot manifest our Buddha nature in any other way. That object is none other than the Gohonzon that is enshrined before us. In fact, gongyo represents the actual practice that enables us to manifest our Buddha nature, our supreme life condition, through our bond with the Gohonzon. The Daishonin wrote the following in his gosho, “Reply to Kyo’o” (Kyo’o-dono gohenji): I, Nichiren, have inscribed my life in sumi, so believe in the Gohonzon with your whole heart. The Buddha’s will is the Lotus Sutra, but the soul of Nichiren is nothing other than Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Miao-lo states in his interpretations, “The revelation of the Buddha’s original enlightenment is the heart of the sutra.” (Shimpen gosho, p. 685) In other words, since the Gohonzon represents the true entity of the Buddha, we must understand that the Gohonzon characterizes the very life of Nichiren Daishonin. This is the attitude that we must uphold in our faith. Therefore, when we sit before the Gohonzon, we must do so with the attitude that we are having direct audience with the Daishonin; we must face the Gohonzon with the utmost respect and dignity. To do so, it is essential for us to assiduously perform gongyo by activating all our six sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind). Let us consider each of these in further detail: The eyes: Let us open our eyes wide and pray to the Gohonzon. Closing our eyes or looking around restlessly represents inappropriate behavior. The ears: Let us uphold the understanding that we are listening to the Buddha’s sermon, when we hear the sutras and daimoku with our ears. When we are performing gongyo and daimoku with two or more persons, it is important to listen intently to and harmonize with the voice of the person who is leading the prayer. The nose: We must use our noses to smell the fragrance of the incense and confirm in our minds that we are engaged in a solemn practice. The tongue: Let us strive to recite the sutras and chant daimoku by maintaining a tone that is moderate, solemn, powerful, and clear. The body: Let us dress and act in a manner that is appropriate for going before the Daishonin. We should not perform gongyo while wearing our pajamas, even on our days off. In performing gongyo, we must first of all sit up straight. We must join our hands in prayer and match together our ten fingers. Our hands must be joined naturally in front of our chests. Let us try not to rub our prayer beads. The mind: It is most essential to consider the Gohonzon to be the very entity of Nichiren Daishonin. We must believe in the absolute power of the Gohonzon. Let us try our best to put the Gohonzon first – before anything else – in our lives. Let us strive to recite the sutras and chant daimoku, based on the Gohonzon. I have discussed the attitude that we must uphold in performing our gongyo and daimoku. When we maintain a correct attitude and posture in our practice and continue to follow the basic form, our faith will naturally develop correctly. This, in turn, will enable us to achieve fulfillment in all our prayers. We perform our practice of daimoku on a daily basis. Our 26th High Priest Nichikan Shonin stated the following about the practice of chanting daimoku It may not seem to you that chanting daimoku one or two times would enable you to achieve Buddhahood. However, individual drops of water accumulate to form the oceans, and steps taken one after another enable people to travel a thousand ri (approximately 2500 miles). In the same way, it is essential for us to chant and amass daimoku everyday. Based on this, we can understand that it is important for us to always perform our Buddhist practices assiduously, without ever failing to perform gongyo and daimoku. When we are able to maintain this, we will be able to successfully expiate our sins and negative karma from our past and present lives and to manifest true Buddhahood in our lives. Furthermore, doing so would enable us to manifest a profound sense of indebtedness and gratitude to the Gohonzon and true appreciation towards our deceased relatives. We would then be able to understand the true spirit of offering the toba memorial offerings for the deceased. One of the ceremonies of the toba memorial offering is represented by the Higan-e ceremony, which I just performed today. I hope that you now understand how essential the performance of gongyo and daimoku is, when you make the toba offerings. I ask you all to reconfirm this correct attitude and posture in your performance of gongyo and daimoku. I would like to conclude my sermon for today, on this occasion of the Higan-e ceremony, by sincerely praying that you would redouble your efforts in the performance of your Buddhist practices. I extend my heartfelt appreciation to you for your attendance today. |