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Chanting and Desireby Ryuei Michael McCormick |
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Chanting as Prayer and Illumination
Many people have expressed some confusion
and concern about chanting Òfor things.Ó Some people seem to see the practice
of Odaimoku as a kind of prayer to the universe or the Eternal Buddha, or
perhaps as a magical way of tapping into some impersonal force that can grant
wishes. Others might view that as superstitious or self-serving. Others might
go so far as to insist that one should only chant for world peace or only for
the attainment of spiritual goals such as attaining buddhahood. Some might even
suggest that one should not have anything in mind except the Odaimoku itself. I
would like to express a Middle Way by sharing my own reflections on what our
minds should be doing when we are sitting before the Gohonzon and chanting
Odaimoku.
To begin with, in Nichiren Buddhism, the
act of chanting or even silently reflecting upon the Odaimoku can help us to
maintain our equilibrium in the midst of strong passions and desires and set
our minds upon the resolution to attain buddhahood for the sake of all sentient
beings. At the very least, the presence of the Odaimoku acts as a cause to
positively transform whatever situations we are facing and in the meantime
helps us to reflect upon ourselves in the light of the Buddha Dharma.
We should not condemn ourselves for our
desire, aggression, lust, hostility, indifference, agitation, doubt and other
such feelings. These afflictions or defilements, as they are called in
Buddhism, are the misunderstood and misdirected forces that have brought us
into the life we are living and which will provide us with the energy and
motivation that we need to attain buddhahood. This does not mean that we should
give in to them anymore than we should reject them. We should, however, give
ourselves the space to become mindful of them so that we can work with them in
a more skillful way through our practice of Odaimoku.
I think that we all have a lot of very
difficult issues in our lives around which we have very strong feelings both
positive and negative. The best thing we can do for others and ourselves is to
chant about these issues during gongyo and silently to ourselves whenever they
arise during the course of a day. In that way, we embrace these issues and our
feelings concerning them in the Odaimoku, thereby inviting the Buddha's insight
and compassion into the actual life situations that we are faced with. We do
not even need to chant for specific outcomes. It is enough to just chant with
the attitude that all things can be resolved through the wisdom and compassion
of the Buddha that opens up in our lives through our faith in the Wonderful
Dharma.
We may also find ourselves chanting to
express our thankfulness for something that worked out in our lives, perhaps in
a way that was better than we could have planned ourselves. Or we might find
ourselves chanting in regret or even remorse over something that we did or
failed to do. Or we might chant in order to express or strengthen a resolution
we have made. In these cases we are not chanting for a solution to a problem or
to attain some goal, but rather to give voice through the Odaimoku to deep
feelings we experience and need to express, if only to ourselves or to the
Gohonzon (however we may understand that).
Aside from chanting about personal
desires and issues, something should also be said about chanting as a way of
generating and emanating loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and
equanimity. Often our chanting can be a form of well wishing for the sake of
others. We chant for the happiness and well being of the people in our lives,
we chant that they be free of suffering, we chant as a way of rejoicing when
good things happen to them, and we chant with the wish that all beings without
exception live in peace and harmony. In fact, in Buddhism it is expected that
one should first generate such positive feelings towards oneself as that comes
most naturally, and then learn to extend loving-kindness, compassion,
sympathetic joy, and equanimity to family, friends, benefactors, co-workers,
colleagues, strangers, and even those one is at odds with. This can be a very
powerful form of practice and can help us access the selfless caring and
compassion of our buddha-nature.
A point should come, however, when we
have chanted about all these things enough and our minds have become more
settled. Then we can just entrust all these things to the Gohonzon, to the
all-encompassing wisdom and compassionate embrace of the Eternal Buddha that is
not other than our own inner light.
We do not have to force this. Rather, it would be more appropriate to
say that our minds come to be at ease through chanting about these things and
is able to just naturally let them go for a time. Then we can truly abide in
the Odaimoku alone and let it speak to us. In this way, we find ourselves still
and centered and able to listen to the wisdom of our lives. Actually,
experiencing the stillness and silence of all but the Odaimoku can itself be a
powerful illuminating experience.
Chanting, or even peacefully abiding in
the Odaimoku, however, is not enough. If we spend only an hour or so a day with
the Odaimoku but we spend the other fifteen of our waking hours nursing our
worries, fears, desires, vendettas etc., or even worse acting upon these
feelings, then we are showing that our trust is really only invested in our own
limited perspective and not in the Wonderful Dharma. The Odaimoku can come
alive for us when it becomes our primary motivation and outlook and when we
show our faith and confidence in it through our actions. Follow through in our
moment-to-moment thoughts, words and deeds is what is needed to make our faith
in the Odaimoku truly sincere. Even if we slip up, we should just acknowledge
our mistakes and turn again and again to the Odaimoku until it does become a
part of every moment and takes its place at the center of our life mandala.