Our Heart Permeates Every Corner of the Universe

[Nichiren Daishonin] [D]eclares that daimoku is so powerful that there is nowhere in the universe it does not reach.

What’s important is that our prayers are filled with powerful conviction and the determination to realize them, come what may. When we earnestly chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, our prayers reach every corner of the universe.

Through deep prayer, we transform our fundamental state of mind, and that inner transformation changes our own lives as well as our environment.

This is the doctrine of the “actual three thousand realms in a single moment of life”  that the Daishonin gave concrete expression to (as Nam-myoho-renge-kyo). It is the absolute law of life. That is why everything starts from prayer. (…)

If we forget about prayer and only pursue strategies or methods, we are very likely to find ourselves going in circles. Supreme victory is guaranteed when we pray with all our might as practitioners of the Lotus Sutra.

If we just chant without any real focus or determination, our prayers won’t be fulfilled. As practitioners of Nichiren Buddhism, let’s chant wholeheartedly, bring forth wisdom, and continue to challenge ourselves with courage and perseverance more than anyone. Buddhism is a teaching that values reason.[1]

Three thousand realms in a single moment of life (ichinen-sanzen, in Japanese): A doctrine formulated by T’ien-t’ai, based on The Lotus Sutra. The “three thousand realms” are the variable characteristics and phases that life has at any given moment. Life at each moment is endowed with the Ten Worlds. Each of these ten worlds possesses within itself the potentiality of the ten worlds, which equals to one hundred worlds. Each of these one hundred worlds contains the ten factors and expresses itself in one of the three realms of existence, totalizing three thousand realms. In other words, all phenomena are contained in a single life moment which in turn permeates the three thousand realms of existence, that’s to say the entire phenomenal world.

The New Human Revolution chapter “SGI” describes an event of which we will celebrate its 50th anniversary this month.[2] In it, Daisaku Ikeda makes reference to another passage of the writing of Nichiren Daishonin which we have commented in this section:

In order to realize lasting peace for all humanity, we need to instill in people’s hearts a spirit of compassion for all living beings in accord with the Buddhist principle of the sanctity of life, which itself is based on the recognition that all life inherently possesses the supremely noble and unsurpassed life-state of Buddhahood. This process is what we call kosen-rufu.

Nichiren Daishonin teaches: “It is certain that widespread propagation of the Law [kosen-rufu] will eventually be achieved throughout Jambudvipa (the entire world).”[3] Here he is declaring that worldwide kosen-rufu is definitely possible. Of course, that doesn’t mean that we can just sit idly by and wait for it to happen. The momentous advance of kosen-rufu can only occur if those who practice the Daishonin’s teachings strive in genuine earnest to make his prediction a reality.

Therefore, we should stand up as the protagonists of this endeavor, keenly aware of our lofty mission. That is what it means to rise up as Bodhisattvas of the Earth. When we do so, we begin to transform our life-state, build indestructible happiness, and experience a life filled with joy. Buddhism teaches that the entire universe exists within our hearts.[4]