Just a quick question... why chant in japanese? Is it believed that the language holds the same inherent vibratory qualities as sanskrit? If the language itself doesn't have inherent qualities, why not chant the equivalent in english?

It is not really Japanese. It is a liturgical reading of kanji, based on the original ancient Chinese reading. Some think the old Chinese script and the sanskrit siddham as well as the readings have some mystic significance. However, we have no real way to prove how accurate the readings might be. I think the power is in the both the literal meaning and symbolic imagery. The "shindoku" does have a nice rhythm that kind of resonates through the body, the air, and the walls. So do blues chords. Maybe the music of the cosmos or something? The shin of shindoku 真読 is 真 meaning true, authentic, or genuine; doku 読 means reading I think, so it means true reading.

You are like asking why must Shakayamuni choose to born in India, and Tientai choose to born in China and Nichiren choose to born in Japan ?

From the Buddhist scriptures , it gave an analogy if a parent has 10 chidren, and they love all their children impartially. However if one of the children fall sick , the parent will gave their most attention to the one who was ill.

So it just happen in formal day of the Dharma , the living beings in India have the worst sickness, then in the middle day of Dharma it the Chinese who fall the worst ill, when it came to the Latter day of the Nichiren time, it happened to be the Japanese. So the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas born to those respective lands accordingly, and preaching according to the language of that time. That's always a profound deeper meaning of how the Dharma unfolded in our world.

Now , Nichiren is the leader of the Bodhisattva of the earth in this latter day, all disciples of his emerged of his Bodhisattva family would chanted together in one voice , similar to the teacher. - that's all , it fairly simple once you removed all those secular attachment and baggages, it has been millions of people all around the world ( as far as cuba and tonga ) chanting similarly in this moment , so the chanting is round the clock , 24hrs 7days a week in our world and for the last nearly 800 years all in the simialr faction, the practice is well proven and testified historically .

why it need to change to suit your preference ?

ASN

aleaf,

Robby is correct that it is not Japanese, it is Shindoku that is used in Nichiren Buddhism. The Japanese chanting of the Lotus Sutra is Kundoku and actually sounds markedly different. My teachers have generally explained that Shindoku is the "faith reading" of the Lotus Sutra, in that it doesn't work at the logical or conscious level, but affects us at deeper level than intellectual understanding.

In Nichiren Shu we also chant the Lotus Sutra in one's own native language as well. So this could be English, French, Spanish, Chinese etc... depending on what language one speaks. This is more for an intellectual reflection standpoint as opposed to the faith reading.

Lastly the reason for using Shindoku is that it pays homage to the lineage of the Lotus Sutra coming from India and into China where the T'ien T'ai tradition was founded. It also recognizes the translator Kumarajiva who rendered the Lotus Sutra into Chinese when Buddhism was being transmitted to China.

aleaf -

There is another reason which hasn't yet been mentioned, and that is to have one common form in which all Nichiren Buddhists throughout the world can practice together. As long as we all practice chanting in shindoku, as well as our own native languages, then when we meet we can all practice together at the same time, chanting in a way that is common to all and impartial at the same time.

These are all very good answers, thank you very much.



I wasn't demanding that anyone change it, I was only asking the question.

That is the problem with romaji. The shin for faith is 信, a translation of Shraddha. So "faith reading" is not a correct translation of 真読 {shindoku}. That is just one of those mistakes that happen. The best translation is authentic reading. It is also called 音読み {on yomi} or 呉音. Per wiki; the "readings are from the pronunciation during the Southern and Northern Dynasties or Baekje, an ancient state on the Korean Peninsula, during the 5th and 6th centuries. Go means the Wu region (in the vicinity of modern Shanghai)." Another term is sino-japanese. Given the date, the shindoku is probably much closer to how Kumarajiva read it than any modern Chinese reading. Indeed, transliterated sanskrit terms seem to show that. Consider: 文殊師利菩薩

This is a transliteration of Manjuśhirī Bodhisattva.

Mandarin reading is Wenshushihli pusa
Shindoku reading is Monjushiri bosatsu

Another meaning: "真読 actual reading. Senses: Full sutra recitation, wherein one goes throughthe whole text, rather than just leafing through the pages, as in 轉讀 {tendoku}.| ~~ Digital Dictionary of Buddhism.

gassho

robin


A Homophonic Kick in the Citta

Robby,

I think their point of rendering "faith reading" of "Shindoku" is not the literal translation, but rather how the practice is meant to work.

I am just being a Buddhist Nerd. Technically 真読 {shindoku} means to read the text; in contrast with 轉讀 {tendoku}; which appears to mean just sort of looking at it. For example, if we read the mandala Gohonzon for meaning; that would be 真読 {shindoku}. Using it as a meditative visualization would be 轉讀 {tendoku}. I think. Nichiren Shu appears to use the terms a little differently from scholars.

Technically, the word for the way we pronounce it is 音読み {on yomi}, or more specifically 呉音 {go on}. The main point is that it is not a native Japanese reading; it is a very old liturgical reading from China; probably very close to the way Kumarajiva would have read it. Too bad they did not have recording devices.

Ok, then it's time to be nerdy!

I think it's also problematic to use "reading" too, even though that seems to be most widely used term. I'm guessing that the word reading is more for a liturgical sense perhaps rather than used on a comprehension basis. The sutra isn't read so much as it is chanted or recited- it's a devotional exercise as opposed to intellectual in this sense. I think the definition of "reading" as "the form or version of a given passage in a particular text" is probably the reference, but that doesn't exactly cover the actual process of the practice and it's intention.

Using "authentic" seems to imply that there is, or may be, an "in-authentic" reading as well, which isn't the case. The examples you used don't make Shindoku more authentic (as in true, or real), but more accurate in sound.



Personally, I think that the use of Shindoku is very positive as it is a shared liturgical language that keeps ties to the patriarchs and matriarchs of the tradition. By using it,Shindoku helps us to navigate away from the debate of "whose language to use?" and the Dharma/cultural politics that implies, by turning to the ancestors for inspiration. I enjoy chanting in Pali for similar reasons- I find that it has a cadence and a personal connection that Dharma that I really resonate with. But that's just me.


SM

Using a native language is helpful, but using Shindoku is a very powerful and deeply effectual method for practice.