Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime: Commentaries on the Writings of Nichiren
    On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime: Commentaries on the Writings of Nichiren
    On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime: Commentaries on the Writings of Nichiren
    Ebook151 pages1 hour

    On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime: Commentaries on the Writings of Nichiren

    By Daisaku Ikeda

    5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    What constitutes a meaningful life? What is true happiness? Nichiren Buddhism, based on the Lotus Sutra, is a teaching of hope that provides answers to these and other important questions for modern life. Ranked among the most important works in Mahayana Buddhism, Nichiren's 13th-century writings were revolutionary. In On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime, Nichiren turned prevailing Buddhist thought on its head. Attaining Buddhahood, or enlightenment, he argues, does not require embarking on some inconceivably long journey toward becoming some resplendent godlike Buddha, but rather it means accomplishing a transformation in the depths of one's being and revealing one's ultimate potential within. And Nichiren dedicated his life—braving all manner of persecution—to giving people a practical means for doing so. Daisaku Ikeda's simple and straightforward commentary brings alive this important writing for the modern world. Thoughtful people of all faiths will resonate with his compassionate insights on the universal teaching of happiness that is Nichiren Buddhism.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherIndependent Publishers Group
    Release dateJul 1, 2013
    ISBN9781938252310
    On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime: Commentaries on the Writings of Nichiren

    Read more from Daisaku Ikeda

    Related to On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime

    Related ebooks

    Philosophy For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Chanting

      Jan 22, 2019

      Chanting
      3 min read

    • Article

      What Stories Do We Allow Ourselves to Hear?

      Dec 7, 2021

      MOST MORNINGS, I sit with a cup of coffee and read a portion of a Buddhist sutra before doing my practice. The first two I ever read this way were the Lotus Sutra and the Diamond Sutra, both of which are chock full of profound doctrine and vivid, eng

      2 min read

    • Article

      The Time for Black Sanghas Has Arrived

      Sep 14, 2021

      The Time for Black Sanghas Has Arrived
      9 min read

    • Article

      Everything’s Made Of Mind

      Jan 22, 2019

      Everything’s Made Of Mind
      8 min read

    • Article

      Beginner’s Mind

      Nov 19, 2019

      ACCORDING TO BUDDHISM, our basic problem is not sin. It’s more like a giant mistake. Because we misunderstand the true nature of ourselves and what we experience, we create poisons that cause ourselves and others endless suffering. These are the many

      3 min read

    • Article

      You Are Already A Buddha

      Nov 22, 2022

      My first experiences learning to meditate were with my late father, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche. He was a revered meditation teacher, but he lived a very simple life, spending most of his time in a small hermitage on the outskirts of the Kathmandu Valley.

      7 min read

    • Article

      The Buddhist Science of Mind

      Mar 2, 2021

      The Buddhist Science of Mind
      6 min read

    • Article

      Beginner’s Mind

      Mar 19, 2019

      WITH SO MANY lineages, practices, and unique terms, the world of Tibetan Buddhism can be confusing. Here is a short primer on the four main schools and some of their key practices. Gelugpa: Established in the fifteenth century, the Gelugpas are the n

      4 min read

    • Article

      Why I Do Not Bow

      Jul 20, 2021

      Why I Do Not Bow
      3 min read

    • Article

      Friends, Not Food

      Mar 19, 2019

      Friends, Not Food
      4 min read

    • Article

      Compassion Without Calculation

      Mar 8, 2022

      Compassion Without Calculation
      10 min read

    • Article

      2. Don’t steal

      Jan 19, 2021

      2. Don’t steal
      2 min read

    • Article

      The Fine Art of Conscious Dying

      Mar 11, 2024

      The Fine Art of Conscious Dying
      9 min read

    • Article

      Glimpses of Buddhanature

      Sep 20, 2023

      Glimpses of Buddhanature
      17 min read

    • Article

      Steadfast In The Midst Of Samsara

      Feb 11, 2020

      Steadfast In The Midst Of Samsara
      11 min read

    • Article

      Book Briefs

      Mar 7, 2023

      BUDDHISM’S FUNDAMENTAL CONCERN is freeing beings from the delusions that are the causes of suffering. One method that is often used to do this is distinguishing two truths, or two realities: the relative truth of how things appear conventionally, and

      4 min read

    • Article

      More From Lion’s Roar

      Jul 18, 2023

      More From Lion’s Roar
      2 min read

    • Article

      Teachers You May Not Know But Should

      Nov 23, 2021

      Ven. Bhante Suhita Dharma taught through his good deeds. “EXPERIENCE IS the best teacher when it comes spiritual practice,” the late Ven. Bhante Suhita Dharma once said, reflecting on his own life. Born into the Jim Crow South, the racism he endured

      12 min read

    • Article

      59 Ways to Turn Your Mind Around

      Mar 2, 2021

      59 Ways to Turn Your Mind Around
      7 min read

    • Article

      You Can Take Refuge Right Here

      Sep 14, 2021

      You Can Take Refuge Right Here
      12 min read

    • Article

      In Defense of Ritual

      May 8, 2018

      In Defense of Ritual
      7 min read

    • Article

      How Insentient Beings Expound Dharma

      Sep 20, 2023

      The concept of buddhanature (bussho), as interchangeable with tathagatagarbha (womb or embryo of tathagata; “one who has thus come,” an epithet of the Buddha), arose in Mahayana Buddhism after Nagarujuna (second to third century CE) and before Vasuba

      3 min read

    • Article

      Book Briefs

      Feb 5, 2019

      Lama Zopa Rinpoche has long dreamed of creating a massive statue of Maitreya Buddha in India, a wish that originated with his guru Lama Thubten Yeshe (1935–1984) as a thank-you for India’s acceptance of Tibetan refugees. This vision led to the creati

      4 min read

    • Article

      More From Lion’s Roar

      Jul 19, 2022

      The fall issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Guide marks twenty years since the first issue came out. From the beginning, Buddhadharma has brought the various traditions of Buddhism into dialogue with each other, sharing their wisdom, and also

      1 min read

    • Article

      Something To Believe In

      Apr 13, 2022

      Something To Believe In
      5 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime

    5/5

    2 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime - Daisaku Ikeda

      [1]

      Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime—

      The Fundamental Purpose of Life and

      a Source of Hope for Humankind

      If you wish to free yourself from the sufferings of birth and death you have endured since time without beginning and to attain without fail unsurpassed enlightenment in this lifetime, you must perceive the mystic truth that is originally inherent in all living beings. This truth is Myoho-renge-kyo. Chanting Myoho-renge-kyo will therefore enable you to grasp the mystic truth innate in all life. (On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime, The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 3)

      Just what constitutes a deeply meaningful life? What is true happiness? Nichiren Buddhism is a teaching of hope that enables us to forge a state of unsurpassed and indestructible happiness and to lead a life of supreme value, while also helping others do the same.

      All people have the potential to attain Buddhahood; moreover, they can gain that lofty state just as they are and in fact are assured of being able to do so in this lifetime. Nichiren Buddhism clearly elucidates this wonderful path to enlightenment.

      Nichiren Daishonin’s profound teaching of attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime was a revolutionary concept that turned prevailing Buddhist thought on its head. Indeed, it continues to shine today as a principle that can powerfully transform the age and open a bright future for our modern world in the twenty-first century.

      Therefore, I look forward to studying Nichiren’s writing On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime together with you, as we embark in high spirits on a new journey of growth and development toward the Soka Gakkai’s eightieth anniversary (in 2010).

      The Profound Meaning of Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo

      On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime is an important writing that clarifies the basic theory and practice of Nichiren Buddhism. SGI members throughout the globe have deepened their understanding of the essence of Nichiren Daishonin’s teachings by earnestly studying this writing as a guideline for practice and study.

      Although the original is no longer extant and the precise date and name of the recipient are unknown, this letter is traditionally thought to have been written around 1255 and addressed to Toki Jonin.¹ The assertion that it was composed in 1255, shortly after Nichiren publicly declared his teaching of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo in 1253, is credible in view of the letter’s content, explaining as it does the significance of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo in terms of both theory and practice.

      The practice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the foundation of Nichiren’s lifetime of teachings. Nichiren Buddhism, unlike the established Buddhist schools of his day, was not dedicated to the worship of a specific god or Buddha. Nichiren established the means for all people to achieve enlightenment, the ideal of the Lotus Sutra, by formulating the practice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, which enables us to activate our inherent Buddha nature and manifest it as the life-state of Buddhahood.

      In Nichiren Buddhism, chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo has two aspects: the chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo in terms of faith and chanting in terms of practice. Chanting in terms of faith refers to the spiritual aspect of our practice. This essentially consists of the struggle we wage in our hearts against our inner delusion or darkness—a battle against the negative and destructive forces within us. It means that through the power of faith—in other words, through strengthening our conviction that we possess the Buddha nature—we can break through the darkness obscuring this awareness, thus revealing the life-state of Buddhahood. Chanting in terms of practice, meanwhile, refers to chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo ourselves and also teaching it to others. It means making efforts in word and deed for our own and others’ happiness in the course of our spiritual struggle against inner negativity and illusion.

      When we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, we are both chanting the name of, and calling forth, the Buddha nature in our own lives and the lives of others. Through applying our practice of faith to win over doubt and delusion, the power of our inherent Buddha nature is called forth by the sound of our chanting and spontaneously manifests in our lives.²

      The key point that sets Nichiren Buddhism apart from the other Buddhist schools of his day was the establishment of this concrete means for attaining Buddhahood. And from the time he first declared Nam-myoho-renge-kyo until the moment of his death, Nichiren ardently strove to teach this supreme path of enlightenment to people throughout the land.

      In the opening passage of On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime, Nichiren clearly and fully articulates the basic philosophy of enlightenment that lies at the heart of his teaching, which exists for the happiness of all humanity: If you wish to free yourself from the sufferings of birth and death you have endured since time without beginning and to attain without fail unsurpassed enlightenment in this lifetime, you must perceive the mystic truth that is originally inherent in all living beings. This truth is Myoho-renge-kyo. Chanting Myoho-renge-kyo will therefore enable you to grasp the mystic truth innate in all life (WND-1, 3).

      We’ll discuss the profound meaning of this passage in detail next time. But briefly, it says that by manifesting within us the mystic truth inherent in all living beings, we can free ourselves from the endless sufferings of birth and death. The name of that mystic truth is Myoho-renge-kyo, and the way to manifest it is through chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

      The Significance of Our Existence as Human Beings

      Nevertheless, even though you chant and believe in Myoho-renge-kyo, if you think the Law is outside yourself, you are embracing not the Mystic Law but an inferior teaching. (WND-1, 3)

      The concept of attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime refers to ordinary people becoming enlightened during the course of their present existences. By extension, it means that they can achieve this just as they are. As such, attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime means the same thing as attaining Buddhahood in one’s present form, which is the Lotus Sutra’s approach to Buddhahood and illustrated by the example of the dragon king’s daughter³ in the sutra’s Devadatta chapter.

      This view contrasts sharply with the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings, which expound that one can become enlightened only after practicing austerities over countless lifetimes. Because the life-state of Buddhahood is at one with the eternal Mystic Law and abounds with infinite wisdom and compassion, it tended to be seen as something completely separate and removed from the lives of ordinary people steeped in illusion. Attaining enlightenment was thought to require overcoming the unfathomably deep chasm between the spiritual states of a Buddha and ordinary people, and this gave rise to the idea that it was necessary to carry out austere practices for innumerable kalpas.⁴

      Nichiren Buddhism clarifies that it is specifically in this present existence, in which we have been born as human beings, that we can actualize the principle of attaining Buddhahood in one’s present form as explained in the Lotus Sutra. And Nichiren Daishonin reveals how to actualize this profound teaching.

      SGI President Ikeda at Soka University, Hachioji, Tokyo, on May 5, 2006.

      Drawing an analogy to rice crops, Nichiren notes that while some ripen early and some ripen late, they will all mature and be ready for harvest within the year. He explains that votaries of the Lotus Sutra will likewise attain Buddhahood in this existence without fail.⁵

      Nichiren places importance on the present lifetime of human beings. Of course, not only humans but also all living beings possess the Buddha nature and have the potential to attain Buddhahood in their present form, but Nichiren’s focus is always first and foremost on the happiness of human beings.

      The human heart is sensitive, multifaceted and rich; it has the capacity for magnificent achievement. For that very reason, the heart often undergoes great suffering and torment, and can become trapped in an endless, downward spiral. Will we transmigrate forever along the paths of evil, or can we succeed in directing our lives into an orbit of good?

      As evidenced in many of his writings, Nichiren repeatedly stresses the crucial importance of the heart, or mind. In this inner realm of life, the potential resides for dramatic shifts from evil to good or from good to evil. That is why Nichiren’s teaching of enlightenment can be viewed as a process that begins with inner change. In other words, through the power of faith, we can defeat the negative functions inside us that are governed by the fundamental darkness in all human hearts and manifest the positive functions of life that are one with the Dharma nature—our Buddhahood.

      This present lifetime, in which we have been born as human beings, represents a golden opportunity to ensure that our lives no longer transmigrate along the evil paths but instead traverse the paths of good.

      Emphasis on Inner Change

      Therefore, when you chant myoho and recite renge, you must summon up deep faith that Myoho-renge-kyo is your life itself. (WND-1, 3)

      Arouse deep faith, and diligently polish your mirror day and night. How should you polish it? Only by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. (WND-1, 4)

      In On Attaining Buddhahood in This Life-time, Nichiren Daishonin thoroughly explains that we cannot achieve enlightenment without a profound change in our lives, in our hearts and minds.

      First, he writes that the mystic truth with which all living beings are endowed reveals the principle of the mutually inclusive relationship of a single moment of life and all phenomena (WND-1, 3). What this means is that our lives or our minds at each moment both

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1