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Nichiren and the Core of Mahayana Doctrine

"All existence is suffering and change." This is the first of Shakyamuni's "four noble truths." The second is, "Suffering is caused by craving." But why do we selfishly crave? Why are we so foolish? The answer given by Buddhism is that our minds are filled with illusion, fictions that we embrace as true. The aim of Buddhist practice, therefore, is to enable us to see through these illusions, to arrive at a correct understanding of the way things are and free ourselves from selfish craving and, hence, from suffering.

Nagarjuna developed the concept of "non-substantiality" in connection with those of dependent origination and the nonexistence of self-nature. Because phenomena arise only by virtue of their relationship with other phenomena, they have no distinct nature or existence of their own; and there is no independent entity that exists alone, apart from other phenomena. Nagarjuna described a Middle Way that regards the categories of existence and nonexistence as extremes and aims to transcend them. The practical purpose behind the teaching of non-substantiality lies in eliminating attachments to transient phenomena and to the ego, or the perception of self as an independent and fixed identity.

Chih-i asserted that the Buddha nature was possessed by both sentient and non-sentient beings. Thus every individual fully possesses the ultimate truth of the Buddha nature and is interconnected with all of existence. Furthermore, anyone has the potential to discover this reality at any time.

The continuity of this thought is evident in Nichiren's explication of the Middle Way. Working within the framework established by Nagarjuna and reprised by Chih-i as the doctrine of the "three truths," Nichiren stated that: "Life is indeed an elusive reality that transcends both the words and concepts of existence and nonexistence. It is neither existence nor nonexistence, yet exhibits the qualities of both. It is the mystic entity of the Middle Way that is the ultimate reality." [12] In describing the Middle Way in this fashion, Nichiren emphatically affirms that the Buddha nature is the fundamental reality of our lives and of the world in which we live.

It is not necessary to flee from the everyday world or eliminate all desires in order to perceive this reality and attain enlightenment. In place of the very complex and primarily linguistic and philosophical formulations that had developed over the centuries and effectively excluded the general populace from enlightenment—either because they focused on a monastic vocation or simply because they offered no accessible means to achieve this end—Nichiren offered a strikingly new method of self-awakening. Indeed, he sought to demonstrate that all people—female or male, upper class or lower, intellectual or not—can attain enlightenment in this life as they are. [13]

This is possible, according to Nichiren, because a correct understanding of the Middle Way reveals that although a person's life manifests both impermanence and non-substantiality, it equally manifests the unchanging reality of all existence. Thus it is the fundamental reality of all human existence and in no way the exclusive possession of a select few. For Nichiren, the phrase Nam-myoho-renge-kyo expresses this truth in its purest form since it both invokes and embodies the ultimate reality that pervades the universe. This is the basis for his assertion that reciting the daimoku would enable an individual to connect with this reality of one's life and the universal Buddha nature.

As mentioned earlier, in order to facilitate this practice Nichiren inscribed the Gohonzon—a written, thus physical manifestation of his life and enlightenment. [14] The Gohonzon serves as the mandala, the "object of devotion," for those who practice Nichiren Buddhism. It serves as a focus for them in seeking to discover their own enlightened reality through chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and reciting portions of the Lotus Sutra. According to Nichiren, it is not merely the individual's life that is transformed through this practice; because of the interconnectedness of all life, society and the environment, too, will be reshaped on their most fundamental level. [15]

12. "On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime," in The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, 3–4. The three truths are non-substantiality, temporary existence, and the Middle Way. See Glossary in The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, 1279.
13. Nichiren expanded the earlier theoretical understanding that all people possess the truth of the Law into a concrete practice that would enable all people to actively experience this reality. From a Mahayana view, Theravada and most esoteric Buddhist schools lead only those individuals who first purge themselves of desire to attain wisdom and some form of personal enlightenment.
14. The Gohonzon is inscribed in Chinese and Sanskrit characters. It is kept in an altar and is the focus of the daily religious practice of Nichiren's followers in the Soka Gakkai International (SGI). Nichiren discusses both the form and significance of the Gohonzon in his treatise, "The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind Established in the Fifth Five-Hundred-Year Period After the Thus Come One's Passing," in The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, 354–77. He provides a specific description of the meaning and placement of the inscribed characters in "The Real Aspect of the Gohonzon," The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, 831–33.
15. A full discussion of this mutual transformability can be found in Nichiren's treatise "On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land" in The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, 6–30.