For many people in the west, the practice of Buddhism conjures up images of monks and nuns in temples or people meditating in silence for hours on a retreat, isolated from the hectic, everyday world. Some might end up thinking that Buddhism is just an inward-looking practice for self-improvement, divorced from wider society.

The practice of Nichiren Buddhism, however, as part of the Mahayana tradition, places great emphasis on practice for oneself and others as the way to achieve enlightenment or Buddhahood. To achieve this supreme life-state, Buddhist practitioners are encouraged to seek happiness for both self and others.

Practice for oneself consists of our daily reciting of key passages of the Lotus Sutra and chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to the Gohonzon, as well as studying our Buddhist teachings. Both chanting and study serve to deepen and strengthen our faith in the Gohonzon and in the Buddha nature in our own life and in the lives of all people.

However, we can easily become inward-looking, focusing only on ourselves. This could lead to our lives shrinking, and we can easily become overwhelmed by our own suffering.

Practice for others corresponds to engaging with people around us, developing value-creating friendships and ultimately sharing their joys and struggles as if they were our own. This may lead to our teaching them how to practise Buddhism, if that’s appropriate for their circumstances. But, regardless of whether they chant or not, practising for others is a desire for other people to reveal their true potential and achieve happiness.

It is sometimes said that practice and study are like the two wheels of a cart. If only one wheel turns, we will find ourselves going round in circles! In the same way, someone who immerses themselves in study but doesn’t chant will find that their approach will likely end up abstract and theoretical. They will not be able to see proof of their faith in daily life. Similarly, someone who chants but doesn’t seek to deepen their faith through regular study may give in to doubts when they encounter the inevitable difficulties of life. They will also struggle to explain Buddhism to others and find ways to encourage them. Just as an imbalance between the essential components of study and practice can lead to deadlock, so too can a way of practising only to achieve our own desires.

This doesn’t mean pushing our own lives aside or denying our own problems, and only focusing on other people’s happiness, but rather us becoming happy together with other people. Buddhism teaches that this is the way to reveal our true potential. As President Ikeda explains:

‘I want to become happy and for everyone else to become happy, too.’ This is the original mind, the pure wish, functioning in the depths of life since beginningless time. Those who totally embrace this spirit are Buddhas. Because it is the Buddha's all-encompassing wish, it is called the great vow.1

In the closing section of ‘gongyo’2, we recite: ‘At all times I think to myself: how can I cause living beings to gain entry into the unsurpassed way and quickly acquire the body of a Buddha?’ (Jp. Mai ji sa zen nen. I ga ryo shujo. Toku nyu mu-jo do. Soku joju busshin).

This phrase expresses the vow of the Buddha. In modern language, this could be expressed as ‘how can I help the people around me awaken to the true greatness of their lives and become absolutely happy?’

Alongside our determination to reveal our own Buddha nature, we also cherish in our hearts this great vow for the happiness and enlightenment of others. It naturally follows that our efforts to awaken others to their Buddhahood will bring our own Buddhahood to shine. Nichiren Daishonin expresses the inseparability between us and others in the following way:

When one lights a torch for someone at night, one brings light not only to another person but to oneself as well. Likewise, when one livens other people’s complexions, one livens one’s own too, when one gives them strength, one gives oneself strength too, when one prolongs their lives, one prolongs one’s own life as well.3

This is the joy we ourselves experience through supporting another person and seeing them overcome their problems and become happy. President Ikeda explains:

When we look after and care for others – that is, help others draw forth their life-force – our own life-force increases. When we help people expand their state of life, our state of life also expands. That is the wonderful thing about the bodhisattva way. The practice for benefiting others is one and the same with the practice for benefiting ourselves.

To only speak of benefiting others leads to arrogance. It conveys a sense of self-righteousness, as if we are somehow doing others a favour by ‘saving’ them. Only when we recognise that our efforts on others’ behalf are also for our own sake will we be filled with humble appreciation for being able to develop our lives.

Our lives and the lives of others are ultimately inseparable. It is vital, therefore, that we follow the bodhisattva way.4

Perhaps we are struggling with obstacles and difficulties at the moment, and it may seem overwhelming to think of taking on someone else’s problems. However, Nichiren Daishonin teaches us that when we reach out to help others, our own worries and problems decrease. In other words, the life-force we gain from supporting others enables us to have more confidence and energy to tackle our own problems.

The SGI discussion meeting provides the perfect example of how even sharing our struggles, and how we are chanting to resolve them, can help another person who is suffering with the same issues or has lost hope in life.

We and many people around us are suffering amid a seemingly never-ending catalogue of disasters and conflicts. How can we transform this to create a world based on compassion and respect for the dignity and sanctity of life?

Our conviction in the SGI is that the slow but steady path to achieving this goal lies in the way of life in which we keep striving to reveal the Buddha nature in our own life and the lives of others. And the perfect place to start is at our local discussion meeting. ●

References
  1. Daisaku Ikeda, The Heart of the Lotus Sutra: Lectures on the ‘Expedient Means’ and ‘Life Span’ Chapters (World Tribune Press, 2013) p. 380.
  2. Gongyo: the recitation of key passages of the Lotus Sutra that practitioners of Nichiren Buddhism chant each morning and evening.
  3. Nichiren Daishonin, ‘On Clothing and Food’ (WND-2, p. 1066).
  4. Daisaku Ikeda, The Wisdom for Creating Peace and Happiness (Eternal Ganges Press, 2015) Vol 1, p. 132.