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| Buddhist Practice |
| Gohonzon |
The Gohonzon is the object of devotion in Nichiren
Buddhism. In Japanese, "go" means worthy of honor and "honzon" means
object of fundamental respect. Nichiren defined the universal
law permeating life and the universe as Nam-myoho-renge-kyo
and embodied it in the form of a mandala. In the Gohonzon, a
scroll on which are inscribed Chinese and Sanskrit characters,
Nichiren symbolically depicted the life state of Buddhahood,
which all people possess.
 SGI members chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to a Gohonzon enshrined
in their own homes. The Gohonzon, together with a practitioner's
faith and chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, acts as a stimulus
to activate the life-condition of Buddhahood innate in one's
life.
Our inner life-condition changes constantly as we come into
contact with different external stimuli: everything around us--people,
the weather, a piece of music, the color of the walls--creates
some kind of influence on us. A painting can cause the viewer
to feel enraptured, calm or disgusted, and a letter can either
cause joy or shock and dismay. In order to bring out our highest
potential condition of life, our Buddhahood, we also need a
stimulus. Nichiren's enlightenment to the law of life enabled
him to create a stimulus that would be able to activate the
life-condition of Buddhahood within us.
One can still chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and experience
benefit if one is not near, or unable to see a Gohonzon. The
most essential element in Nichiren's practice for drawing forth
one's Buddhahood is the strength of one's faith. |
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