Rokkon Shojo
13 Oct 2013
Good morning, everyone!< br /> I am glad to see you this morning.
As you know, we are going to observe the Oeshiki today. Oeshiki is a memorial service which is held each year for our Founder, Nichiren Shonin who passed away on October 13, 1282 in present Tokyo. This year marks his 732nd memorial. Please look at the large scroll on your right. This scroll shows how he passed away. The original picture has been preserved at Minobusan.
A member came to me and showed me his Omamori the other day. He asked me what was written on it and what it meant. There are many writings on every Omamori. However, it is so hard to read and understand Kanji even for some of you. That's why I want to talk about it.
The Omamori which the member showed me is a piece of wood with tassel measuring about 1 inch X 2 inches. 4 Kanjis are on it and it says, “Rokkon Shojo.” The words are from the Lotus Sutra Chapter XX, Never-Despising Bodhisattva. We can see the words mentioned twice in the Chapter.
“Rokkon” means eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind. They mean both senses and organs. They are the sense of vision, the sense of audition, the sense of smell, the sense of taste, the sense of touch and the faculty of intellect. For the average person, it is difficult to understand how the six senses function. For example, because of our individual defilement, we all have different perceptions. You may enjoy a particular fragrance or fruit but another person may not like it. We don't see things as they are because of our attachments. “Shojo” means to be purified and be free from attachments. “Rokkon Shojo” is a stage of awakening. That's why “Rokkon Shojo” is a prayer to liberate man from attachments and to help attain Buddhahood.
If I say 6 senses, you may remember the famous movie, the 6th sense. In the movie they talked about something beyond the other 5 senses and understood the true nature of things like inspiration. However, it is different from the 6 senses of Buddhist concepts I am talking about. I hope you realize the differences between them. Nowadays we know that there are other senses such as a sense of balance. We can notice how straight or crooked we stand. That is the modern scientific 6th sense. It is also called Extrasensory perception.
Going back to the main subject. I hope you understand the prayer of “Rokkon Shojo.” Next question is how we can achieve a stage of “Rokkon Shojo.” The Lotus Sutra Chapter XX, Never-Despising Bodhisattva says, When he was about to pass away, he heard in the sky the twenty thousand billion gathas of the Lotus Sutra, which had been expounded by the Powerful-Voice-King Buddha. Having kept all these gathas, he was able to have his eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind purified as previously stated. Having his six sense-organs purified, he was able to prolong his life for two hundreds billion nayuta more years.
It means that we too can achieve purification of our six sense-organs by listeniong and keeping faith in the Lotus Sutra. We can attain “Rokkon Shojo” if we believe, hear and keep the sutra.
Therefore, the true meaning of “Rokkon Shojo” is to pray for attainment of Buddhahood by having faith, listening to and upholding the Lotus Sutra. The Omamori is a small piece of wood with concentration of our important prayer. When the member looks at his Omamori, I hope he appreciate his faith and the power of prayer. Do you have your own Omamori? If so, do you know what that is for? If you don't know it, please feel free to ask me.