Nichiren Shu Daily Service - Online Edition

Bowing to the Three Treasures - (optional) Showing deep reverence for Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

With all our hearts, we bow to the eternal Buddhas of the worlds of the ten directions.

With all our hearts, we bow to the eternal Dharmas of the worlds of the ten directions.

With all our hearts, we bow to the eternal Sanghas of the worlds of the ten directions.

Three Treasures - (optional) Expressing faith in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

Leader: Let us place our whole trust in the Three Treasures. I put my faith in the Buddha.

Assembly: I put my faith in the Buddha.

Leader: I put my faith in the Dharma.

Assembly: I put my faith in the Dharma.

Leader: I put my faith in the Sangha.

Assembly: I put my faith in the Sangha

Invocation – Honoring and inviting the Three Treasures to be present.

Honor be to the Great Mandala, the Perfect Circle of all Honorable Ones, revealed by our founder Nichiren Shonin.

Honor be to the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha, our Original Teacher, the Lord of the Dharma, our Great Benefactor, who attained enlightenment in the remotest past.

Honor be to the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Flower Sutra, the Teaching of Equality, the Great Wisdom, the One Vehicle.

Honor be to Renge Ajari Nichiji Shonin, the first overseas missionary.

Honor be to the protective deities of the Dharma.

We honor all of you, may you come to this consecrated place out of your compassion toward us, see us with the light of your wisdom, and accept our offering of chanting this sutra and Namu Myoho Renge Kyo!

Verses for Opening the Sutra – Appreciating the opportunity to encounter and hear the Dharma.

The most profound and wonderful teaching is presented in this sūtra. This sūtra is difficult to meet even once in thousands and millions of eons. Now we have been able to see, hear, receive, and keep this sūtra. May we understand the most excellent teaching of the Tathagata!

The most excellent teaching of the Great Vehicle is very difficult for us to understand. We shall be able to approach awakening when we see, hear, or touch this sūtra. Expounding is the Buddha’s body of bliss (Sambhoga-kaya). Expounded is the Buddha’s body of truth (Dharma-kaya). The letters composing this sūtra are the Buddha’s body of transformation (Nirmana-kaya).

Just as perfume is caught by something put nearby, so shall we be richly benefited by this sūtra, even when we are not aware of being so benefited, because infinite merits are accumulated in this sūtra.

We can expiate our past transgressions, do good deeds, and attain Buddhahood by the merits of this sūtra. It does not matter whether we are wise or not, or whether we believe the sūtra or slander it.

This sūtra is most wonderful and most excellent taught by the Buddhas of the past, present, and future. May we meet and receive it, birth after birth, world after world!

Passage from Chapter 2 of the Lotus Sutra:

Shindoku Style:

[Note: the * represent the bells.]

Myoho Renge Kyo Hoben Pon Dai Ni

Ni ji se son, ju san mai an jo ni ki go shari hotsu

*sho but’ chi e jin jin mu ryo go chi e mon nan ge nan nyu

*is’ sai sho mon hyaku shi butsu sho hu no chi sho i sha ga

*butsu zo shin gon hyaku sen man noku mu shu sho butsu

jin gyo sho butsu mu ryo do ho yu myo sho jin myo sho hu mon

jo ju jin jin mi zo u ho zui gi sho setsu i shu nan ge Shari hotsu

go ju jo but’ chi rai shu ju in nen shu ju hi yu ko en gon kyo

mu shu ho ben in do shu jo ryo ri sho jaku sho i sha ga

nyo rai ho ben chi ken hara mitsu ka i gu soku Shari hotsu

nyo rai chi ken ko dai jin non mu ryo mu ge riki

mu sho i zen jo ge das’ san mai jin nyu mu sai jo

ju is’ sai mi zo u ho Shari hotsu

nyo rai no shu ju hun betsu gyo ses’ sho ho

gon ji nyu nan ek’ ka shu shin Shari hotsu

shu yo gon shi mu ryo mu hen mi zo u ho

bus’ shitsu jo ju shi Shari hotsu

hu shu bu setsu sho i sha ga bus’ sho jo ju

dai ichi ke u nan ge shi ho yui butsu yo butsu

nai no ku jin sho ho jis’ so sho i sho ho

nyo ze so

nyo ze sho

nyo ze tai

nyo ze riki

nyo ze sa

nyo ze in

nyo ze en

nyo ze ka

nyo ze ho

nyo ze hon matsu ku kyo to

sho i sho ho

nyo ze so

nyo ze sho

nyo ze tai

nyo ze riki

nyo ze sa

nyo ze in

nyo ze en

nyo ze ka

nyo ze ho

nyo ze hon matsu ku kyo to

*sho i sho ho

nyo ze so

nyo ze sho

nyo ze tai

nyo ze riki

nyo ze sa

nyo ze in

nyo ze en

nyo ze ka

nyo ze ho

*nyo ze hon matsu ku kyo to

English Style:

[Note: the * indicate the bells.]

Myoho Renge Kyo

Skill-ful Means

Chap-ter Two

There-up-on the World Hon-ored One e-merged qui-et-ly from his sa-ma-dhi, and said to Sha-ri-pu-tra:

*The wis-dom of the pre-sent Bud-dhas is pro-found and im-mea-sur-a-ble. *The gate to it is dif-fi-cult to un-der-stand and dif-fi-cult to en-ter. *Their wis-dom can-not be un-der-stood by a-ny shra-va-ka or pra-tye-ka-bud-dha be-cause the pre-sent Bud-dhas at-tend-ed on ma-ny hun-dreds of thou-sands of bil-lions of past Bud-dhas, and prac-ticed the in-nu-mer-a-ble teach-ings of those Bud-dhas brave-ly and stren-u-ous-ly to their far flung fame un-til they at-tained the pro-found Dhar-ma which you have ne-ver heard be-fore, and be-came Bud-dhas, and al-so be-cause since they be-came Bud-dhas they have been ex-pound-ing the Dhar-ma ac-cord-ing to the ca-pa-ci-ties of all li-ving be-ings in such var-i-ous ways that the true pur-pose of their var-i-ous teach-ings is dif-fi-cult to un-der-stand.

Sha-ri-pu-tra! Since I be-came a Bud-dha, I al-so have been ex-pound-ing var-i-ous teach-ings with var-i-ous stor-ies of pre-vi-ous lives, with var-i-ous par-a-bles, and with var-i-ous sim-i-les. I have been lead-ing all liv-ing be-ings with in-nu-mer-a-ble skill-ful means in or-der to save them from var-i-ous at-tach-ments, be-cause I have the pow-er to em-ploy skill-ful means and the pow-er to per-form the par-a-mi-ta of in-sight.

Sha-ri-pu-tra! The in-sight of the Ta-tha-ga-ta is wide and deep. The Ta-tha-ga-tas have all the states of mind to-wards in-nu-mer-a-ble liv-ing be-ings, un-hin-dered el-o-quence, pow-ers, fear-less-ness, dhya-na con-cen-tra-tions, e-man-ci-pa-tions, and sa-ma-dhis. They en-tered deep in-to bound-less-ness, and at-tained the Dhar-ma which you have nev-er heard be-fore.

Sha-ri-putra! The Ta-tha-ga-tas di-vide the Dhar-ma in-to var-i-ous teach-ings and ex-pound those teach-ings to all liv-ing be-ings so skill-ful-ly and with such gen-tle voi-ces that liv-ing be-ings are de-light-ed. Sha-ri-pu-tra! In short, the Bud-dhas at-tained the in-nu-mer-a-ble teach-ings which you have ne-ver heard be-fore. No more, Sha-ri-pu-tra, will I say be-cause the Dhar-ma at-tained by the Bud-dhas is the high-est Truth, rare to hear and dif-fi-cult to un-der-stand. On-ly the Bud-dhas at-tained the high-est Truth,

that is, the re-al-i-ty of all things in re-gard to their ap-pear-an-ces as such, their na-tures as such, their ent-i-ties as such, their pow-ers as such, their ac-tiv-i-ties as such, their caus-es as such, their con-di-tions as such, their ef-fects as such, their re-com-penses as such, *and their e-qual-i-ty as such de-spite these dif-fer-en-ces.

that is, the re-al-i-ty of all things in re-gard to their ap-pear-an-ces as such, their na-tures as such, their ent-i-ties as such, their pow-ers as such, their ac-tiv-i-ties as such, their caus-es as such, their con-di-tions as such, their ef-fects as such, their re-com-penses as such, *and their e-qual-i-ty as such de-spite these dif-fer-en-ces.

*that is, the re-al-i-ty of all things in re-gard to their ap-pear-an-ces as such, their na-tures as such, their ent-i-ties as such, their pow-ers as such, their ac-tiv-i-ties as such, their caus-es as such, their con-di-tions as such, their ef-fects as such, their re-com-penses as such, *and their e-qual-i-ty as such de-spite these dif-fer-en-ces.

Verses of Chapter 16 of the Lotus Sutra (Juryo-hon Jigage)

Shindoku Style:

[Note: the * indicate the bells]

Myoho Renge Kyo Nyorai Juryo Hon Dai Ju Roku

Ji ga toku butsu rai

sho kyo sho kos’ shu

mu ryo hyaku sen man

oku sai a so gi

*jo sep’ po kyo ke

mu shu oku shu jo

ryo nyu o butsu do

ni rai mu ryo ko

*I do shu jo ko

ho ben gen ne han

ni jitsu hu metsu do

jo ju shi sep’ po

*ga jo ju o shi

i sho jin zu riki

ryo ten do shu jo

sui gon ni hu ken

Shu ken ga metsu do

ko ku yo sha ri

gen kai e ren bo

ni sho katsu go shin

shu jo ki shin buku

shichi jiki i nyu nan

is’ shin yoku ken butsu

hu ji shaku shin myo

ji ga gyu shu so

ku shutsu Ryo ju sen

ga ji go shu jo

jo zai shi hu metsu

i ho ben riki ko

gen u metsu hu metsu

yo koku u shu jo

ku gyo shin gyo sha

Ga bu o hi chu

i setsu mu jo ho

nyo to hu mon shi

tan ni ga metsu do

ga ken sho shu jo

motsu zai o ku kai

ko hu i gen shin

ryo go sho katsu go

In go shin ren bo

nai shutsu i sep’ po

jin zu riki nyo ze

o a so gi ko

jo zai Ryo ju sen

gyu yo sho ju sho

shu jo ken ko jin

dai ka sho sho ji

Ga shi do an non

ten nin jo ju man

on rin sho do kaku

shu ju ho sho gon

ho ju ta ke ka

shu jo sho yu raku

sho ten kyaku ten ku

jo sa shu gi gaku

U man da ra ke

san butsu gyu dai shu

ga jo do hu ki

ni shu ken sho jin

u hu sho ku no

nyo ze shitsu ju man

ze sho zai shu jo

i aku go in nen

Ka a so gi ko

hu mon san bo myo

sho u shu ku doku

nyu wa shichi jiki sha

sok’ kai ken ga shin

zai shi ni sep’ po

waku ji i shi shu

setsu butsu ju mu ryo

Ku nai ken bus’ sha

i setsu butsu nan chi

ga chi riki nyo ze

e ko sho mu ryo

ju myo mu shu ko

ku shu go sho toku

nyo to u chi sha

mot’ to shi sho gi

To dan ryo yo jin

butsu go jip’ pu ko

nyo i zen ho ben

i ji o shi ko

jitsu zai ni gon shi

mu no sek’ ko mo

ga yaku i se bu

ku sho ku gen sha

I bon bu ten do

jitsu zai ni gon metsu

i jo ken ga ko

ni sho kyo shi shin

ho itsu jaku go yoku

da o aku do chu

ga jo chi shu jo

gyo do hu gyo do

Zui o sho ka do

i ses’ shu ju ho

*mai ji sa ze nen

i ga ryo shu jo

toku nyu mu jo do

*soku jo ju bus’ shin

English Style:

[Note: the * indicate the bells]

Myoho Renge Kyo

The Du-ra-tion of the Life of the Ta-tha-ga-ta

Chap-ter Six-teen

It is man-y hun-dreds of thou-sands

Of bil-lions of tril-lions

Of a-sam-khyas of kal-pas

Since I be-came the Bud-dha

*For the past in-nu-mer-a-ble kal-pas

I have al-ways been ex-pound-ing the Dhar-ma

To man-y hun-dreds of mil-lions of liv-ing be-ings

In or-der to lead them in-to the Way to Bud-dha-hood.

*In or-der to save the con-trar-y peo-ple,

I skill-ful-ly show my nir-va-na to them.

In re-al-i-ty I shall ne-ver pass a-way.

I al-ways live here and ex-pound the Dhar-ma.

*Al-though I al-ways live here

With the con-trar-y peo-ple,

I dis-ap-pear from their eyes

By my su-per-nat-u-ral pow-ers.

When they see me seem-ing-ly pass a-way,

And make of-fer-ings to my sha-ri-ras,

And a-dore me, ad-mi-re me,

And be-come de-vout, up-right and gen-tle,

And wish to see me

With all their hearts

At the cost of their lives,

I re-ap-pear on Vul-ture Peak

With my San-gha,

And say to them:

“I al-ways live here.

I shall ne-ver be ex-tinct.

I show my ex-tinc-tion to you skill-ful-ly

Al-though I ne-ver pass a-way.

I al-so ex-pound the un-sur-passed Dhar-ma

To the liv-ing be-ings of the o-ther worlds

If they re-spect me, be-lieve me,

And wish to see me.

You have ne-ver heard this;

There-fore, you thought that I pass a-way.”

I see the con-trar-y peo-ple sink-ing

In an o-cean of suf-fer-ing.

There-fore, I dis-ap-pear from their eyes

And cause them to ad-mi-re me.

When they a-dore me,

I ap-pear and ex-pound the Dhar-ma to them.

I can do all this by my su-per-nat-u-ral pow-ers.

I live on Vul-ture Peak

And al-so in the o-ther a-bodes

For a-sam-khya kal-pas.

The con-trar-y peo-ple think:

“This world is in a great fi-re.

The end of the kal-pa of de-struc-tion is com-ing.”

In re-al-i-ty this world of mine is peace-ful.

It is filled with gods and hu-mans.

The gar-dens, for-ests, and state-ly build-ings

Are a-dorned with var-i-ous trea-sures;

The jew-eled trees have man-y flow-ers and fruits;

The liv-ing be-ings are en-joy-ing them-selves;

And the gods are beat-ing heav-en-ly drums,

Mak-ing var-i-ous kinds of mu-sic,

And rain-ing man-da-ra-va flow-ers on the great mul-ti-tude and me.

This pure world of mine is in-de-struc-ti-ble.

But the con-trar-y peo-ple think:

“It is full of sor-row, fear, and o-ther suf-fer-ings.

It will soon burn a-way.”

Be-cause of their evil kar-mas,

These sin-ful peo-ple will not be a-ble

To hear e-ven the names of the Three Trea-sures

Dur-ing a-sam-khya kal-pas.

To those who have ac-cum-u-la-ted mer-its,

And who are gen-tle and up-right,

And who see me liv-ing here,

Ex-pound-ing the Dhar-ma,

I say:

“The du-ra-tion of my life is im-mea-sur-a-ble.”

To those who see me aft-er a long time,

I say, “It is dif-fi-cult to see a Bud-dha.”

I can do all this by the pow-er of my wis-dom.

The light of my wis-dom knows no bound.

The du-ra-tion of my life is in-num-er-a-ble kal-pas.

I ob-tained this lon-ge-vi-ty by a-ges of prac-ti-ces.

All of you, wise men!

Have no doubts a-bout this!

Re-move your doubts, have no more!

My words are true, not false.

The phy-si-cian, who sent a man skill-ful-ly

To tell his con-trar-y sons

Of the death of their fa-ther in or-der to cure them,

Was not ac-cused of false-hood al-though he was still a-live.

In the same man-ner, I am the fa-ther of the world.

I am sav-ing all liv-ing be-ings from suf-fer-ing.

Be-cause they are con-trar-y,

I say that I shall pass a-way al-though I shall not.

If they al-ways see me,

They will be-come ar-ro-gant and li-cen-tious,

And cling to the five de-si-res,

So much that they will fall in-to the e-vil re-gions.

I know who is prac-tic-ing the Way and who is not.

There-fore, I ex-pound var-i-ous teach-ings

To all liv-ing be-ings

Ac-cord-ing to their ca-pa-ci-ties.

*I am al-ways think-ing:

“How shall I cause all liv-ing be-ings

To en-ter in-to the un-sur-passed Way

*And quick-ly be-come Bud-dhas?”

Devotion or “Directing Thoughts” - (optional) a reflection on the meaning of Odaimoku.

The Wonderful Dharma expounded in the sutra whose sacred title we now chant, is what the past Buddhas taught, the present Buddhas are teaching, and the future Buddhas shall teach. It is the Great Dharma, true and pure, the propagation of which was entrusted primarily to the Great Bodhisattva Superior Practice by the Buddha on Vulture Peak. Once we chant the sacred title Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, we shall attain the right view that the three thousand worlds exist in our minds just as they are; the Pure Land of Tranquil Light shall be made manifest in our sight; our Buddha-nature shall be identified with the Buddha of Three-Bodies-in-One; and, together with all other beings, we shall enjoy living in the Land of Truth. May the sound of our chanting the sacred title permeate the whole world, be offered to the Three Treasures, and bestowed on all beings. May all beings enter the World of the One Reality, the Great Vehicle; may the Buddha-land be adorned and all beings favored with the merits of our chanting.

Recitation of Odaimoku (Sacred Title):

Namu Myoho Renge Kyo…

Difficulty of Retaining the Sutra - (optional) a passage from chapter 11 wherein the Buddha commends us for upholding the Lotus Sutra.

It is difficult to keep this sutra. I shall be glad to see anyone keeping it even for a moment. So will all the other Buddhas. Such a person will be praised by all the Buddhas. This will be a person of valor; one of endeavor, who should be considered to have already observed the precepts and practiced the dhuta. Such a one will quickly attain the unsurpassed enlightenment of the Buddha. Anyone who reads and recites this sutra in the future is a true child of mine and shall be considered to live on the stage of purity and good. Anyone, after my extinction, who understands the meaning of this sutra will be the eyes of the worlds celestial and mundane. Anyone who expounds this sutra even for a moment in this dreadful world should be honored with offerings by all heavenly and earthly beings.

Perfect and Sudden Tranquility and Insight – (optional) sometimes recited instead of Difficulty of Retaining the Sutra after Odaimoku chanting. It is a passage from Kuan-ting’s introduction to T’ien-t’ai Chih-i’s Great Concentration and Insight (C. Moho Chikuan; J. Maka Shikan).

The perfect and sudden tranquility and insight from the very beginning takes ultimate reality as its object. No matter what the object of insight might be, it is seen to be identical to the middle. There is here nothing that is not true reality. When one fixes [the mind] on the Dharma-realm [as object] and unifies one’s mindfulness with the Dharma-realm [as it is], then there is not a single sight nor smell that is not the Middle Way. The same goes for the realm of self, the realm of Buddha, and the realm of living beings. Since all aggregates and sense bases [of body and mind] are thusness, there is no suffering to be cast away. Since ignorance and the afflictions are themselves identical with enlightenment, there is no origin of suffering to be eradicated. Since the two extreme views are the Middle Way and false views are the right view, there is no path to be cultivated. Since samsara is identical with nirvana, there is no cessation to be achieved. Because of the [intrinsic] inexistence of suffering and its origin, the mundane does not exist; because of the inexistence of the path and cessation, the supramundane does not exist. A single, unalloyed reality is all there is – no entities whatever exist outside of it. That all entities are by nature quiescent is called “tranquility”; that, though quiescent, this nature is ever luminous, is called “insight”. Though a verbal distinction is made between earlier and later stages of practice, there is ultimately no duality, no distinction between them. This is what is called the “perfect and sudden tranquility and insight.” (from The Great Calming and Concentration: A Study and Annotated Translation of the First Chapter of Chih-i’s Mo-ho Chih-kuan by Neal Donner and Daniel B. Stevenson, pp. 112-114)

Prayer or Dedication of Merits - the dedication of the merits of our practice for the welfare and liberation of all beings.

We respectfully dedicate all our merits now gathered to the Great Benevolent Teacher, Shakyamuni, the Eternal Buddha; to the Supreme Teaching, the Lotus Sutra; to the Leader of the Declining Latter Age of the Dharma, our founder, the Great Bodhisattva Nichiren Shonin; and to the benevolent forces of the universe who protect the Dharma!

May the Wonderful Dharma spread throughout the ten thousand years of the Declining Latter Age of the Dharma!

May we realize this world is the Eternal Buddha’s Pure Land!

May all beings under the heavens and within the four seas live in accordance with the Wonderful Dharma!

May peace permeate all the world and all beings enjoy peace and happiness!

May all beings live in safety and live long without misfortune!

May this peace and happiness last forever and all beings prosper!

We pray that all beings awaken to the true nature of reality that is the Buddha Dharma!

May all beings of all realms be helped equally, overcome suffering, and gain the happiness of blissful liberation through the merits of following the teaching of the Lotus Sutra!

We pray for our ancestors, deceased relatives, and for all those who have passed away [especially for                 ]! We also pray for the happiness and well-being of [        ]!

May we purify our minds, limit our desires, learn to be content, feel free to experience the quiet unassuming joys of life, and learn to abandon all attachments formed in the mind!

With this prayer, we endeavor to increase our understanding and appreciation of what others have given and contributed to us, and to develop constant mindful consideration of how our thoughts and actions will beneficially contribute to others!

Namu Myoho Renge Kyo

Four Great Vows – the bodhisattva vows.

Sentient beings are innumerable;

I vow to save them all.

Our defilements are inexhaustible;

I vow to quench them all.

The Buddha’s teachings are immeasurable;

I vow to know them all.

The Way of the Buddha is unexcelled;

I vow to attain the Path Sublime.

 

Namu Myoho Renge Kyo x3