the Odaimoku
22 Dec 2013
Good morning, everyone!
I am glad to see you this morning.
I am very happy to welcome you for our last Shodaigyo Service this year. As you may know, Shodaigyo is my most favorite service. There are some reasons why I like Shodaigyo.
The most important reason for me is that I just like it. Nichiren Shonin taught us that to chant the Odaimoku is the most important practice for us. The importance is not my reason why I like it. There are some important things but I don't like it in this world. For example, tax. I know that tax is very important for all of us and society. If there is no tax, we all will be in serious troubles. However, I don't like it. I guess that you don't like it, either. I have not met someone who likes tax. I know a wealthy man told few years ago that rich people could be charged tax more. I have never heard that someone who loves tax and wants to pay more. If there were someone who loves tax, I would ask him to pay it for me.
The 2nd reason is that I can calm down and be serene with the Odaimoku. I can be serener during the chanting than during the meditation. I don't know why. It may be because of the power of the Odaimoku. When I chant the Odaimoku, my mind is getting cool down and some things are coming up. I leave them as they are and then notice that they are problems which I am facing. They are sometimes problems which I don't notice. And, answers come up in my mind with problems. You may say it can not be. However, I was saved many times with those pop-up ideas. On the contrary, I go to the Hondo and chant the Odaimoku when I have a problem. Then, I can see which way I should go. Since I calm down because of the Odaimoku, I may listen to voice of the Buddha not with my ears, but my faith.
As you understand, we can not make things better when we are excited. Everybody knows that a sport man with cool mind achieve better than an excited athlete. When we negotiate something, we need to be cool down. When we are excited, we can not make a right decision. Results will be quite different depending on how we are serene. That is why to chant the Odaimoku is very important for me.
Let me talk little more about chanting the Odaimoku. Why did Nichiren Shonin recommend us to chant the Odaimoku. According to him, the Lotus Sutra is the best teaching of the Buddha. Although there were many reasons, the most important 2 reasons were equality that everybody could attain Buddhahood and eternity that everybody could attain Buddhahood at anytime. The Buddha preached everything about what he attained in the Lotus Sutra. That is why it is very hard to understand and practice for ordinary people in Mappo like us. So, Nichiren Shonin taught us that we could receive all virtues of the Lotus Sutra as a Buddha seed when we chant the Odaimoku. It is because daimoku or a title of the Lotus Sutra which is 5 characters of Myo, Ho, Ren, Ge and Kyo is a concentration of it. The word of our vow to believe in the Lotus Sutra is the Odaimoku, Na, Mu, Myo, Ho, Ren, Ge, and Kyo. When we chant the Odaimoku, the seed of the Buddha is planted in our minds, grow and bloom its flower. Blooming its flower means to become a Buddha and to attain perfect eternal happiness. However, it is hard to make it bloom because we have many bad kharma. The more we chant the Odaimoku, the more the seed grows. Although we don't notice it much, we receive many benefits as a proof of growing. One of them for me is to calm down and consider things with serenity.
Many people ask me the same question. That is how and when we receive the benefit from the Buddha. It means that they want it as soon as possible, otherwise they don't believe it. The benefit never comes to us so easily. It also never comes as we expected. As you might know, there are 2 winners won a jackpot of about $65o million lottery recently. I really envy them. I know it is meaningless, but I think if I were the winner, how I would spend such money like I would buy this and that. Do you know how we can win the lottery? That is to buy a ticket. If you don't buy it, you will never win. I know that even if you buy it, you seldom win. The possibility is very close to zero, but that is not zero. You have a possibility. That is why everybody buys a ticket. On the other hand, the Odaimoku is like mileage points of faith. Everybody can accumulate it. According to his/her karma, starting line and its speed of accumulation are different. However, if you earn full points, you are surely able to be a Buddha. Nichiren Shonin was sure that we can be very happy. It is said that the possibility of winning a lottery ticket is very close to zero. It also said that the winner can not always become happy and in most cases he/she had to face very difficult situation within a few years. While the Odaimoku makes us a Buddha and happy 100%. Which is important to us? If someone really wants to be happy, which way he/she should pay attention more? Please consider it.