Gongyo—The Wellspring of Victory

This is just one small scene from the story, but I wanted to share it with you today.

Look at the sunrise!”—to me these words also seem to be a call to make the sun rise in one’s own heart.

Nichiren Daishonin likens the magnificence of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to the sunrise. He writes: “When the sun rises in the eastern sector of the sky, then all the skies over the great continent of Jambudvipa in the south [i.e., the entire world] will be illuminated because of the vast light that the sun possesses” (“The Tripitaka Master Shan-wu-wei,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 169).

Gongyo, which forms a fundamental basis of our Buddhist practice, could be described as a ceremony in which we bring the primordial sun of Buddhahood to rise brightly in the vast skies of our lives each day.

In The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Nichiren cites this significant passage from a Buddhist commentary: “Morning after morning we rise up with the Buddha, evening after evening we lie down with the Buddha. Moment by moment we attain the way, moment by moment we reveal our true identity” (OTT, 83). Morning and evening, we vigorously perform gongyo in front of the Gohonzon; as such, we are always living “together with the Buddha”—this is the teaching of Nichiren Buddhism. Further, at each moment we awaken to the great life force of Buddhahood that has been within us from time without beginning and powerfully manifest it in our lives.

Morning and evening,
joyously attune your lives
to the melody of the universe,
as you recite the “Expedient Means” 
and “Life Span” chapters.

This is a poem that I composed some years ago about gongyo. From the autumn of 2004, the Soka Gakkai inaugurated a new format for gongyo comprising the recitation of a portion of the “Expedient Means” chapter and the verse section of the “Life Span” chapter, along with the chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. The reason for this simplification of gongyo was to create an even greater current of worldwide kosen-rufu in the 21st century. Indeed, because of requests by many members, the SGI organizations outside of Japan led the way in adopting this new format.

In an explanation of gongyo, Nichikan Shonin (1665–1726), who is known as a great restorer of Nichiren Buddhism, describes the chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo as the “primary practice” and the recitation of the “Expedient Means” and “Life Span” chapters of the Lotus Sutra as the “supplementary practice,” or “supporting practice.”

The Daishonin writes that in the midst of the life-threatening Tatsunokuchi Persecution, he “recited the verse portion of the ‘Life Span’ chapter” (“The Actions of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra,” WND-1, 768). Some of his lay believers also “continued to recite the ten factors of life^[2] [of the ‘Expedient Means’ chapter] and the verse section of the ‘Life Span’ chapter and chant the daimoku [Nam-myoho-renge-kyo]” (“The Fourteen Slanders,” WND-1, 756). This is almost the same as the gongyo format that we now follow.

Today, the vibrant sound of gongyo—performed with a prayer for the happiness of oneself and others—can be heard all over the world, in a total of 190 [now 192] countries and territories. Twenty-four hours a day across the planet, the voices of our members chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo never cease for even a moment. Despite different languages and nationalities, different customs and lifestyles, and different cultural and religious backgrounds, the network of SGI members who chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo has spread widely throughout the globe.

How happy this would surely make Nichiren, who declared: “It is certain that widespread propagation of the Law [kosen-rufu] will eventually be achieved throughout Jambudvipa [the entire world.”^[3] There is not the slightest doubt that he would unstintingly praise all of our admirable SGI members.

In practicing Nichiren Buddhism—not least when reciting gongyo and chanting daimoku—we should always be considerate of our neighbors. If our gongyo and daimoku are too loud, we may disturb them. For that reason, it might also be best to refrain from holding extended group chanting sessions in places where this could be a problem.

In the early days of my practice, I would often come home late at night and do evening gongyo. The couple who lived in the apartment next door complained more than once about my loud chanting. “My husband’s a taxi driver and he needs his sleep,” the wife would say to me. She was perfectly right, of course.

Naturally, we must rigorously rebut malicious slanders, but kosen-rufu is essentially about spreading trust and friendship. I remember with some nostalgia how I used to regularly go around to visit my neighbors and talk to them openly and honestly, thus making many a new friend and ally.

There are also members who, because of their work situations, are unable to do morning and evening gongyo at those specific times. I ask that you please be flexible on this point. What matters is that we have the desire to do gongyo and chant daimoku, the desire to pray about our problems. The important thing is challenging ourselves and continuing. 

The Mystic Law is absolute. The only way to tap the infinite power of the Buddha and the power of the Law is to chant and exert ourselves for kosen-rufu with the intensity of a charging lion.

When Josei Toda’s business was in financial straits, I worked furiously to help him surmount the crisis. Pushing myself to the limit day after day took a serious toll on my health. I was a physical wreck. One day, Mr. Toda called me into the Gohonzon room and said: “Daisaku! You haven’t got an ounce of life force! You’re not going to win any battles in that condition. Let’s do gongyo together!” He took me sternly to task as if seeking to banish my weak life state and free me from the devil of illness. Tears filled my eyes at my mentor’s compassion. As I sat in front of the Gohonzon and chanted alongside Mr. Toda—my voice and heart attuned to his—a powerful fighting spirit and a surge of courage welled up inside me.

During that tumultuous period, I had many opportunities to do gongyo with my incomparable mentor. They are now a precious treasure and a memory that continues to resonate in my life to this day, filling me with profound and undiminishing gratitude.

A “fighting” gongyo is the inexhaustible wellspring of absolute victory in both life and the struggle for kosen-rufu.

Through the Buddhist doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life, Nichiren teaches that a great transformation in our attitude or mind can bring about a transformation in all phenomena comprising the three thousand realms. When our fundamental mindset changes, we ourselves change. And when we change, the environment and the world change, too.

The source of this great transformation is found nowhere but in a radical deepening of our own prayer to the Gohonzon. Prayer to the Gohonzon is completely different from that found in a dependent, supplicant faith; we do not weakly and passively beg someone for salvation or assistance. Prayer in Nichiren Buddhism is fundamentally a vow. It is a pledge or commitment to follow a chosen course of action; it is a declaration to challenge a clear objective. As such, how could anything be more wonderful than the vow to realize our personal human revolution and actualize kosen-rufu with its goal of world peace?

While confronting and challenging our own problems, we pray for the happiness of others and for the victory of Soka. We pray to reach organizational activity goals. In our struggle against the three powerful enemies, we pray passionately that justice will definitely prevail; we also take bold and courageous action toward that end. Because we have steadfastly advanced based on such committed prayer and a “fighting” gongyo, the Soka Gakkai has won over all malicious machinations against it and triumphed in every struggle for the sake of the Law. That is why our members brim with boundless wisdom and strength and overflow with benefit that enables them to be victorious.  

There is no such thing as retreat for a man of prayer,”^[4] declared Mahatma Gandhi.

February, the Soka Gakkai’s traditional month of propagation, is here again, and our members everywhere are exerting themselves wholeheartedly to share Nichiren Buddhism with others. The fundamental source of victory for that very first February Campaign back in 1952—a campaign that triggered the dynamic growth of kosen-rufu—was also earnest prayer based on a firm resolve to be victorious without fail.

The Daishonin writes, “Employ the strategy of the Lotus Sutra before any other” (“The Strategy of the Lotus Sutra,” WND-1, 1001). Deeply engraving this passage in our hearts, let us once again rise into action for the sake of victory, a brilliant future and the fulfillment of all our desires.

Onward! Forward! Let us forge ahead with the solid unity of “many in body, one in mind,” powered by a gongyo that is vibrant and vigorous like the rhythm of a galloping horse. Let’s make today, tomorrow and this year a resounding victory by challenging ourselves to the utmost on all fronts. Those who continue to strive and challenge themselves are happy, as are those who win. This is a fact of life.

I once presented this poem to my mentor. It is a poem infused with my vow: 

I will walk the disciple’s path
fiercely praying
and taking action.

October 4, 2024, World Tribune, pp. 2–3