Daily Practise (Gongyo and Daimoku)

Hello all and welcome back ! :)

Now about daily practise, there is a lot to tell about his, yet i feel like it should be plain and simple since there is no need to make things more complicated than they are.

One thing before starting that i feel is most important and that is Faith, genuine Faith!

This applies mostly to chanting the Odaimoku or Daimoku, which is the chanting of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo.

When summon up deep faith, one will be able to connect with the Buddha mind.
Not in the sense that we are buddha inside ( which is a different approach) but through chanting the Daimoku, we can connect with the Buddha mind and through this, there is no doubt we will gain the Supreme Enlightement as is mentioned many times in the Lotus Sutra.

First we open the ceremony ( if you will) with lighting a candle and burn some incense.
When done we chant Namu Myoho Renge Kyo 3 times ( as a token of appreciation)
We then usually start with reciting the 2 important portions of the Lotus Sutra, these parts are from chapter 2 and chapter 16 on the Lotus Sutra, now , i mention parts, since we do not recite the complete chapters, but instead we recite the most significant parts of those two chapters.

In Japanese the Hoben and Juryo chapters. ( these can be found in the blog i posted earlier.)

First we recite the two chapter parts, my advise is to take it slow, since focus is easier to maintain at a slow pace. Also it gives better attention to the right pronounciation of the text.

I'd like to point out that the last part of the Hobenpon is repeated 3 times, before moving to the Juryo chapter.

When are done reciting, we then move on to the chanting of the Daimoku, which is Namu Myoho Renge Kyo.

In chanting one places both palms of the hands together at chest height,fingertips pointing upwards, this is called the Gassho position.
We can chant for as long as we wish, set an amount of Daimoku counts, or set a time limit for chanting, any way will do, just remember, Faith is the most important thing when chanting!

If  one wishes to create some sort of altar, then this okay, we can place a Buddha Shakyamuni statue in the center, put an candle next to it and an incense burner on the other side.

Normally, if  one has a Gohonzon, we chant to that, we do however make sure that the nothing is placed before the Gohonzon so that we have a clear view on it.
Obviously, if we have a wallmounted Gohonzon it's okay to place a Buddha Statue underneath it, again, as long as the Gohonzon is not obstructed.

The daily practise can be as colorfull as one wishes, yet this is all up to your own preferences.

I hope i have helped you get a start in the daily practise, should you have any questions, then please feel free to send me a message and i will try to do my best to answer!

Enjoy!

Gassho,

Richard