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Jōgyō Bodhisattva (Superior Practice Bodhisattva) (5/11)
When you chant the Odaimoku, Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, the seed of Buddhahood is sown in your mind (soul). This is known as Honnin-Geshu (本因下種).
In chapter 16 of the Lotus Sutra, “The Life-span of the Buddha” (如来寿量品第十六), the Primordial Buddha revealed that he had attained enlightenment in the distant past through the practice of Bosatsu-gyō (菩薩行), or Bodhisattva training, over an immeasurably long period. But what exactly is Bosatsu-gyō, the practice to become a Buddha? In the distant past, when the Buddha was still a human being like us, he chanted the Odaimoku, Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, and spread this practice to others, leading them to attain the same Buddhahood. Therefore, Bosatsu-gyō encompasses two types of training: chanting Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō and spreading it to others.
This practice, undertaken by the Primordial Buddha, is also called Honnin-myōgyō (本因妙行). “Hon” (本) literally means “real” or “origin,” representing the true cause of the Buddha’s enlightenment from the very beginning. “Nin” (因) means “the cause,” referring to the Primordial Buddha’s attainment of enlightenment. “Myō” (妙) is a term used to praise the virtue of the Buddha, and “Gyō” (行) means “practice.” Therefore, Myōgyō (妙行) signifies the practice through which the Primordial Buddha attained Buddhahood, and we use this term to honor his achievement. Thus, Honnin-myōgyō means “the practice that is the origin of the Primordial Buddha’s enlightenment.”
The entirety of the Honmon Happon (本門八品), the Chapter 15 to 22 of the Lotus Sutra, teaches about Honnin-myōgyō, detailing how the Primordial Buddha himself attained Buddhahood. At the end of Honmon Happon, he entrusted the Odaimoku, Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, the seed of Buddhahood, to Jōgyō Bodhisattva, instructing him to lead all people in the Mappō period to Buddhahood.
A seed naturally contains the potential to sprout and, with care, will flower. Similarly, if you joyfully believe in the power of the Odaimoku and chant it even once, the seed of Buddhahood is sown in your mind. Thereafter, we only need to continue chanting the Odaimoku and spreading it to others, thereby planting the seed of Buddhahood in their minds just as the Primordial Buddha did. This process of sowing the seed in our minds and in others’ is called Geshu (下種). Thus, Honnin-geshu means chanting the Odaimoku, which is the seed of Buddhahood, i.e., planting the seed of Buddhahood.
For these reasons, in Honmon Butsuryū Shū, we always recite “Honmon Happon shoken (本門八品所顕), Jōgyō shoden (上行所伝), Honnin-geshu no Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō (本因下種之南無妙法蓮華経)” before beginning Kushō-gyō (口唱行) (the practice of chanting the Odaimoku). “Honmon Happon Shoken” literally means “revealed in Honmon Happon,” “Jōgyō shoden” means “handed down by Jōgyō Bodhisattva (Nichiren Shōnin),” and “Honnin-geshu no” means “which is able to sow the seed of Buddhahood.” This recitation informs the Gohonzon (御本尊) (the object of worship) that we will be chanting the “correct” or “genuine” Odaimoku, as revealed in Honmon Happon and handed down from the Primordial Buddha by Jōgyō Bodhisattva. By chanting the Odaimoku preceded by this recitation, we accumulate Kudoku (功徳) (the merits of the Buddha’s enlightenment) in our mind and body.
What exactly happens to us when we chant Honmon Happon shoken, Jōgyō shoden, Honnin-geshu no Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō? Let’s explore this in the next article.
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What will happen if we chant the Odaimoku, Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō? (7/11)
