According to legend...Nichiren first chanted Namu-myoho-renge-kyo. I choose to believe differently, however. I believe that he uttered the mantra sometime before April 28, 1253. But on this date, he resolved to make daimoku his primary practice. And yes, he chanted Namu. Granted, this was not the first time in the history of the world that daimoku was chanted, and Nichiren did not invent the mantra. (Contrary to popular belief.) However, April 28, 1253 was the start of daimoku-chanting-as-primary-practice.
Apr 29, 2010 · BuddhaJones Message Board
On this date in 1253...
NichirenChantingPractice
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In the link cited above, I was referring to this statement:
Nichiren did NOT create the mantra. That's the point I am trying to make. Long before Nichiren's time, people chanted daimoku on their deathbeds. The mantra can be found in Chinese, predating Nichiren. I think this was covered in one of Jacqueline Stone's books.That should be on the list of top fallacies in Nichiren Buddhism: "Nichiren invented Namu myoho renge kyo." No he didn't.
Nichiren said he did not invent NMRK. He also addressed the practice of chanting it on your deathbed as not the same as a primary practice. Chi-ih chanted NMRK as well. Where do you think this practice on the deathbed originated? Where do you think Nichiren Buddhism originated? Chi-ih!
It seems Nichiren Shoshu has moved the date back to March.Letter to the Priests of Seichoji Temple:"On the twenty-eighth day of the third month in the fifth year of Kencho (1253), I declared Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo in front of several priests,including Joen-bo, while I faced toward the south in Dozen- bo's Jibutsu-do hall, on the grounds of Seichoji Temple, located in Tojo County of Awa Province." (Gosho p. 946)
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