| Many times I've seen people go around and around arguing about whether to chant Namu-myoho-renge-kyo, or whether to chant an English translation of the phrase. Proponents of chanting in English say their approach offers more meaning, more of a connection to their own culture. That's probably true.
I'd rather stick with the relative meaninglessness of Namu-myoho-renge-kyo, though. The first time you hear it, it sounds like a collection of nonsense syllables. This "nonsense" serves a valuable purpose, I think.
Enlightenment -- or "awakening to the true nature of reality" -- is not an intellectual exercise. The most brilliant, gifted Buddhist scholar is no closer to enlightenment -- and no farther from it -- than someone who has never even heard of Buddhism.
As one practices and studies Buddhism, knowledge and understanding grow. Still, "understanding" in the sense of knowing the theory of ichinen sanzen, say, is not the same as living fully in the present moment. In my opinion, the latter has nothing to do with intellectual capacity or study.
Besides, sometimes its beneficial to stop making sense. Chanting or thinking the "nonsense" phrase Namu-myoho-renge-kyo throws a monkeywrench into the machinery of discursive thought. It interrupts the narrative of the story you tell yourself about yourself. If only temporarily, it breaks your pattern of interior chatter.
Suppose you're thinking about your rotten boss and your rotten co-workers and the rotten thing that happened at work. You start spinning an interior monologue that reinforces your sense of worthlessness (or your sense of inflated worth.) You justify your resentment, and cast aspersions on everyone and everything.... Your sour thoughts and feelings just snowball into an avalanche.
Sitting down and chanting can derail this line of thought. Sometimes it takes several days and several chanting jags to "get over it." Reciting "nonsense" can break your pattern of thought and move your mind to a more relaxed and perhaps more objective state.
You might be able to recognize a destructive habit of mind before it gets rolling too fast. It took me 18 years of chanting to get here, but now when negative thoughts take hold of my internal narrative, I can recognize it and think, "Namu-myoho-renge-kyo." It's not as if I eradicate the negative habit in that instant, or resolve all the hurt feelings (or whatever) associated with the situation. But that one, small Namu-myoho-renge-kyo is a helpful, hopeful intervention.
It's sort of like when you sneeze and someone says, "God bless you." It's a prayer that something small like a sneeze doesn't turn into something huge and life-endangering like pneumonia -- a prayer that one snide observation doesn't turn into a speeding freight train of ill will.
None of this is to say that you shouldn't find a better job and get away from that rotten boss and those rotten co-workers. Heh.
If nonsense is so beneficial, why bother with Namu-myoho-renge-kyo? Why not chant Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious instead?
Granted, it worked for Mary Poppins, and I'm not gonna diss anyone's mantra.
Still, the roots of Namu-myoho-renge-kyo go back centuries, even pre-dating Nichiren. While it may sound like nonsense -- and while its effects may extend beyond the grasp of even the finest intellect -- Namu-myoho-renge-kyo actually means something.
What it means to historians, scholars and priests may vary depending on who you ask. What it means to me is personal and hard to explain. What it means to you...I don't know what it means to you.
Chanting Namu-myoho-renge-kyo is it's own little crash course in life, tailor-made just for you. All I can say is, just chant and find out for yourself. You don't have to believe anything about it. You don't have to know anything about it. You don't have to adopt any particular attitude. The main thing is just to stick with it. |
