Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism is a practice of chanting with determination

 

RHYTHM

Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo motivates us to take action with focus, energy and strength. It is the source for advancing our lives. Here is a quote on chanting from Nichiren Daishonin who was a Japanese Buddhist priest of the Kamakura period (1185–1333), who developed the teachings of Nichiren Buddhism, a branch school of Mahayana Buddhism.

I am praying . . . as earnestly as thought to produce fire from damp wood, or to obtain water from parched ground.
“Rebuking Slander of the Law,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishinon, vol. 1, p. 444

Soka Gakkai President Ikeda explains: “A person’s attitude in doing gongyo reveals itself in how that person lives. A person whose gongyo is weak will lack vital energy and will lapse inevitably into a feeble way of living. If you do gongyo only as if it were a chore or out of a sense of obligation, it will be hard for you to feel joy in your faith. Therefore, let’s encourage one another to do a refreshing and rhythmical gongyo, like a mythical white flying horse galloping through the sky. Together let’s aim to do a superb, powerful gongyo each day, one that will move the entire universe and is infused with our earnest prayers” (The Human Revolution, p. 1790).

VOICE

Regarding the voice, SGI President Ikeda says, “When we chant with unhesitant faith, our voices, just as they are, become the voice of the Buddha who is always here expounding the unsurpassed Law” (The Heart of the Lotus Sutra, p. 341). Chanting with a clear, resonant and confident voice leads to our fulfillment and victory.