The Strategy of the Lotus Sutra

"Employ the strategy of the Lotus Sutra before any other. All others who bear you enmity or malice will likewise be wiped out. These golden words will never prove false. The heart of strategy and swordsmanship derives from the Mystic Law. Have profound faith. A coward cannot have any of his prayers answered." - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin - 1, p 1001 

 Key points of the Gosho passage:

1. Life is a series of intense, unceasing struggles. When we are defeated, we suffer and when we win, we become happy. This is the true nature of life and happiness. How can we ensure victory and happiness? Nichiren Daishonin teaches us, "Employ the strategy of the Lotus Sutra before any other." This means to take on every challenge based on faith. It means to always begin with prayers of absolute conviction in the Gohonzon, to summon forth courage and wisdom from the depths of our lives and exert ourselves to the fullest.

2. Normally when faced with a problem, people start by devising plans and then making efforts to solve them and only when things do not work out or get worse, will they pray to the Gohonzon for help. Such plans and efforts are what Nichiren refers to as "strategies and swordsmanship". If one's life condition is low, whatever plans or efforts one made will have limited results. Buddhism teaches the immense strength and unlimited potential within us can only be fully unleashed based on the state of Buddhahood. So if we are always based on faith and prayers, our life state will be elevated to Buddhahood and our plans and efforts will then have the best possible results. This is the meaning of "The heart of strategy and swordsmanship derives from the Mystic Law."

3. The Daishonin also reminds us, "Have profound faith. A coward cannot have any of his prayers answered." The greatest enemy that obstructs one from unleashing the tremendous power within is "cowardice". Cowardice arises from doubts about our ability to win over a difficulty. To be cowardly means that we have doubts about the Gohonzon and the Buddha nature within us. Only by winning over one's "cowardice" and with absolute faith in the Mystic Law can one unleash limitless power within. Faith is a challenge to have complete and absolute belief in one's own inherent potential.

The One Essential Phrase

"Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is only one phrase or verse, but it is no ordinary phrase, for it is the essence of the entire sutra. You asked whether one can attain Buddhahood only by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, and this is the most important question of all. This is the heart of the entire sutra and the substance of its eight volumes. The spirit within one's body of five or six feet may appear in just one's face, which is only a foot long, and the spirit within one's face may appear in just one's eyes, which are only an inch across...Similarly, included within the title, or daimoku, of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the entire sutra consisting of all eight volumes, twenty-eight chapters, and 69,384 characters, without the omission of a single character." - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin-1, p922 

Key points of the Gosho passage:

1. This letter was written in response to a letter lay nun Myoho had sent Nichiren Daishonin, asking whether one can attain enlightenment by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo alone.

2. Chanting daimoku is a teaching that is "easy to uphold and easy to practice" (WND-1, p923). Second Soka Gakkai president Josei Toda once said: "The Gohonzon is truly great. But because this is so simple, people fail to understand it."

3. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the heart of the entire Lotus Sutra. It is the "eye" and the essential core of Buddhism. Through these analogies, the Daishonin assures lay nun Myoho that the single phrase Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the key that unlocks the limitless energy of life and wisdom for helping people to become happy.

4. In fact, the practice of chanting daimoku embodies the Buddha's ardent and heartfelt wish to lead all people to happiness. Anyone can perform it. It can be done anytime and anywhere. It is the most highly refined and simplified method of practice. As such, it is the perfect Buddhist teaching for all eternity.