O.k. I have been trying sitting meditation in place of chanting for a couple of weeks on and off now and I have only one problem. Whenever I start to meditate like a cd playing on repeat I keep hearing Nam Myoho Renge Kyo in the back of my mind. It is so strong that I literally have to stop my meditation to stop it. I guess over the last year I have developed a relationship with the Daimoku that is deeper than I thought.

LD,

I had this same experience for years after I had first chanted Odaimoku. Sometimes when I would be practicing sitting meditation I would just have this strong urge to start chanting Odaimoku from out of nowhere. For some time I resisted it and returned to the breath.Finally, I decided I would chant. Nothing major ever happened; just chanted then returned to the breath. Maybe it was a proto-Shodaigyo practice.

Over time my attraction to chanting and learning more about the Lotus Sutra began to grow much more strongly. Even before I left my former practice I would enjoy reading the Lotus Sutra in the park even though it wasn't really present in my own tradition.

The Odaimoku is talked about as being a seed- it is planted in our citta and will blossom at some point- it may be sooner or later in one's life or the next. So I think that your experience is that of the seedling pushing through to your heart/mind.

Chanting is the best and most productive form of meditation, so you should just go with it instead of trying to do a practice that has reached the end of its effectiveness.

You always bring up interesting things! I had that same kind of issue. Even worse, the nam myo ho ren ge kyo was followed by incessant tapes {I am old, I have tapes} of Gakkai songs -- higher than the sky, forever sensei. It was very annoying. So, back to Buddhism 101, we need to get into access concentration; by overcoming the 5 hindrances; lust, enmity, laziness, angst, and cynicism.

I used several different strategies. One was to chant Namu {one beat} Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo. I then it slowed it down to 7 beat Nam Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo. It was hard to maintain rhythm; I had to concentrate. Focus the 5 senses, the mind follows.

Another thing that worked foe me was fousing on the mudras. I use the namaskara snjali mudra {gassho}, usually with a mala / ojuzu} for Odaimoku chanting; the dhayani mudra w/o juzu for silent sitting meditation.

Chakras: iirc, most say to concentrate on the solar plexus, or the tanden behind it? I usually concentrate on the brow. Sometimes I shift my focus through all seven, starting top down. Sometimes I match them with chanting Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo.

Visual imagery: Sometimes I silently gaze at the Mandala Gohonzon. There are other visual images I use too.

Music: I have been listening to music playlists as a meditation. When the music stops, one song will often be playing in my head. I just sit and observe it playing it my head, not ignoring it, but neither stopping it nor going with it.

Reading meditation: If you can find it, Dharmajim has a system of contemplative reading.

When my mind-body is sluggish; chanting works best. When it is agitated; I prefer silent contemplation.


"Don't try to fight off thoughts and feelings, and don't try to judge them or analyze them. If you do find yourself getting caught up in them and creating trains of thought, just be with that too and, if you can, bring your focus back as above. The same applies to any distracting noises or physical sensations or other phenomena that may arise. Just be aware of it and let it go without getting caught by it.: -- Reverend Ryuei
Instructions for Silent Meditation, Walking Meditation, and Chanting as Meditation

Is the 5 hindrances a Nichiren teaching? I might not have run across this yet in my studies.

No, Although the 5 hindrances might correspond the first two of the 4 devils? It is just a very very practical Buddhist teaching; it describes what one must overcome to achieve the most basic access concentration. I thought you were asking about sitting meditation, As far as I know, Nichiren never wrote down any basic meditation instructions. The only positive reference I have found to silent sitting meditation was that those who knew how should by all means do it; while others should focus on developing faith first:

"Therefore, the persons of superior faculties and superior capacity should naturally devote themselves to contemplation and to meditating on the Law. But, for persons of inferior faculties and inferior capacity, the important thing is simply to have a heart of faith." :\

I would love to see a proper translation of that; Watson is a literature translator; and is not good with Buddhist technical terms.

Nichiren also wrote, "It is the way of scholars these days to assert that only those who possess superior wisdom and strenuously exert themselves in the practice of meditation have the capacity to benefit from the Lotus Sutra, and to discourage persons who lack wisdom from even trying."

He was also critical of "the people in the world today who put meditation on the mind and various other things first, and do not delve into or study the teachings of the sutras."

My thinking is that he felt there was no need for him to teach basic sitting meditation.

when you practice the lotus correctly , your innate the 3 hinderances and 4 devils will certain arise to resists against your rise of Buddha nature , This was Tientai had said about, and Nichiren said that ' the wise will rejoice and the foolish will retreat.' else there is no way to know if you are practicing correctly. That why we need a sangha to help one another to, encouragement and pull thru those tests .

do some reading to identify them

ASN

I was just saying that while a couple of weeks ago I was convinced I was done with Nichiren I now realize that I have a deeper connection with the practice and might not want to give it up just yet.

That is good. I might be reading too much in to your comments. I first had the impression you thought the daimoku cd in your head was a distraction. Then I got the impression you were thinking Nichiren Buddhists only follow the Gosho, not the Sutras and traditional commentaries.

If the "daimoku cd" is not a distraction to meditation, then the points on 5 hindrances and 三障四魔 san sho [three external obstructions] shi ma [ four internal demons] were not really apt.

On the other point about Sutras and commentaries, I think traditional Nichiren Buddhism views Nichiren's Gosho as a mix of public commentaries and private guidance. Nichiren wrote:

"If we merely rely upon the commentaries of various teachers and do not follow the statements of the Buddha himself, then how can we call our beliefs Buddhism? To do so would be absurd beyond description!." -- [WND No.8, Page 56, col 2, paragraph 12, Content]

Elsewhere, he ranked the teaching in this order: Sutra > Commentaries and Public or Exoteric > Private or Esoteric. He also gave more weight to the commentaries of Dengyo, T'ien T'ai, Mialo, Nagarjuna, Asanga, and Vasubhandu over others.

All that said, on your topic, Nichiren wrote about that sort of experience. I can not find that right now, maybe someone else remembers? He actually resisted it at first, and went through a sort of spiritual crisis before deciding to propagate the Daimoku.

gassho

robin


The Hut of Solitude

Tha would be cool if you could find that quote