Who was Nichiren?
Nichiren (1222-1282) was the Japanese founder of Nichiren Buddhism. Born as a fisherman’s son, he was called Zennichimaro. He went to Seicho-ji temple in his home province of Awa to study Buddhism in 1233. Shortly after his tonsure at sixteen, he took the name of Rencho and went to Kamakura for further studies. After returning from Kamakura, he traveled to Kyoto and Nara, the old centers of traditional Buddhism in Japan, where he mastered all the sutras and literature of Buddhism. In I253, returning to Seicho-ji, Rencho adopted the name Nichiren (Sun-Lotus) when he advocated chanting “Nam-myoho-renge-kyo” for the first time. He declared the establishment of a new Buddhism. In 1279 he inscribed the Dai-Gohonzon as the fundamental object of respect for the peace and happiness of all mankind. He died three years later. See “The Life of Nichiren Daishonin” in the Introduction of The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1. The term “Daishonin” is an honorific title meaning “great sage
Nichiren was a 13th-century Japanese priest whose philosophy centered around the final teaching of the first historically recognized Buddha (known as Siddhartha Gautama, and also as Shakyamuni Buddha). This teaching, called the Lotus Sutra, declares that all living beings have the potential to attain enlightenment or Buddhahood. Enlightenment is an awakening to the true nature of life, including the profound realization of the interconnectedness of all things the inseparable relationship between the individual and the environment and the ability of each human being to powerfully influence both. This realization leads the individual to assume personal responsibility for his or her own condition of life and for that of the environment. This responsibility is furthered by an understanding of the simultaneity of cause and effect. Each thought, word and deed has an immediate effect both on the individual and on his or her environment. What is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo? Nichiren taught that all of
Allow me. Nichiren was the son of a poor fisherman family, born in 1222 in what is now Chiba prefecture not far from Tokyo. His name was originally Zennichimaro, taking the name Nichiren later in life. He entered a nearby temple, Seicho temple, at age 11, and became a fully ordained monk at age 15. At the Seicho temple, he prayed to the Buddha Kokuzo for enlightenment, seeking answers to questions which plagued him about the various Buddhist sects current in Japan. He traveled to various temples, including the Shingon center at Mt. Koya, but eventually he went to the Tendai center at Mt. Hiei, accepting Tendai Buddhism, which honored the Lotus Sutra. Eventually, he vowed to propagate the Lotus Sutra’s teachings, and encouraged the recitiation of the Sutra and the Odaimoku exclusively, that is, without the practices of other sects of Buddhism. For example, there is a recitation practice in which is said the mantra “Namu Amida Butsu” (“Praise to Lord Amitabha Buddha.” This mantra is favo
