Today marks the 750th Anniversary of the first public chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo by a Japanese priest named Zesho-bo Rencho, who later that day renamed himself Nichiren.

History (some might say legend) has it that Nichiren first chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to the rising sun on April 28, 1253. At noon that day, he spoke of his new teaching to his parishioners. For his efforts, he was driven from his temple to commence a new life marked by both an unwavering persistence in affirming and teaching his new Buddhism and decades of persecution that arose as a direct result of that persistence.

I have been pondering this anniversary for some weeks now and, as I affiliate neither with the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood nor the SGI, sometimes wonder how the "official" organizations of my religion are marking and honoring this date. A brief visit to the SGI web site shows that on April 25th this year, seven small Illinois towns declared "Daisaku Ikeda Day," and I know the head temple Taiseki-ji has been promoting tens of thousands of people to come visit over a year-long commemoration of this anniversary.

However, both these events seem somewhat removed and irrelevant to me as I struggle to change my karma, improve my employment situation and father a child I can only see every few months. What is not lost on me is the joy that wells up in my heart even as I chant the daimoku and I recognize once again that this is the most important day of all.

Nichiren neither lived nor died for our sins. Our sins are our sins and he taught us that none of them are so great as to prevent us from redemption and salvation. Then he taught us how to make that a reality. That is all he did -- and each of us who chant owes him, and no one else, an eternal debt of gratitude. We easily repay that debt by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and transforming our lives -- thereby assuring that Nichiren's humanity, compassion and wisdom will continue into the infinite future we need to create in order for our species to evolve. We've come a long way in 750 years, but there is so much more we need to actualize.

If Buddhism gives us short shrift in anything, it is music and holidays. I am not a musician and therefore can never give voice to what wells up in my heart as I recite the sutra and chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. However, I can assure you that it makes the "Ode to Joy" wither in comparison. I can suggest, however, that April 28th might be a fine day (better than May 3 or October 12, I think) for a Buddhist Thanksgiving. Just a small token ritual might suffice as celebration -- perhaps one Nam-myoho-renge-kyo for each year since that day in 1253 when Nichiren changed this planet. I think 750 daimoku would take about fifteen minutes.

It's just a suggestion. A small beginning -- not one nearly so significant as the one commenced three-quarters of a millennium ago today, but one that can tie us directly to our Buddhist origins. With all the frenzied information attendant to current secular and religious events, perhaps that's a most excellent thing.