Beauty Comes First
Q. Should Odaimoku be pronounced Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō when I chant? A. No, you do not have to chant it this particular way. When you chant Odaimoku, you can pronounce it Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō. It will definitely be … Read More
Q. Should Odaimoku be pronounced Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō when I chant? A. No, you do not have to chant it this particular way. When you chant Odaimoku, you can pronounce it Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō. It will definitely be … Read More
January is the season of beginnings in Japan (as probably everywhere else in the world), so people do a lot of hatsu things, hatsu meaning first – in this case first time in the new year. You can watch the … Read More
<< Go back to Part. 1 They showed us to the main hall which has about sixty-six square meters of flooring, surrounded by a white wall. The morning service began with Rev. Chiaffi’s voice reciting the Mushiirai no Gomon in … Read More
Nichiren Shonin, at his age of seventeen, set out on a journey of Buddhist study seeking after true Buddhism. And then, he finally found that the teaching preached in Honmon Happon in the Lotus Sutra can save us, ordinary people … Read More
Tatsuto Katayama(Member of Myoshoji Temple, Kurashiki, Okayama Pref., Japan) Though it may be a bit long, I would like to share a wonderful story with you. I was born in January 1953 as the first son and the fourth child … Read More
When HBS members meet, we say Arigatō gozaimasu ありがとうございます as a greeting. It sounds strange to other people because usual greetings between Japanese are Ohayō おはよう (in the morning), Konnichiwa こんにちは (in the afternoon), and Konbanwa こんばんは (in the evening). … Read More
Q. Some friends of mine belong to a religious cult from Japan, and they believe that they can shine the light of God through their hands. It is very similar to what is called “Johrei.” In the view of HBS … Read More
Hatsu literally means “for the first time,” and Mairi and Sankei means “visiting a temple.” Hatsu Mairi (初参り) or Hatsu Sankei (初参詣) means bringing a newborn baby to a HBS temple for the first time and praying for a happy … Read More
I bring fullness and satisfaction to the world, like a rain that spreads its moisture everywhere. Eminent and lowly, superior and inferior, observers of precepts, violators of precepts, those fully endowed with proper demeanor, those not fully endowed, those of … Read More
In the threefold world, there is neither birth nor death, or going away nor coming forth, and there is no existing in this world and later entering extinction. Chapter 16 of The Lotus Sutra, The Life Span of the Buddha … Read More
This threefold world is all my domain, and the living beings in it are all my children. Chapter 3 of the Lotus Sutra, A Parable The Buddha said in the Lotus Sutra that every living being is a part of … Read More
Hurting others we hurt ourselvesThat is the law of the universe RacismInequalityMurder ViolenceCrueltyWar What are we doing?Let’s stop the destruction.The world needs us to unite. We are one – BuddhaWe are one – universeWe are one – life LOVE over … Read More
Yukie Morishita(Member of Myōshōji Temple in Kurashiki, Okayama Pref., Japan) The following are two stories that I would like to share with you. Stories of how I recovered from diseases, thanks to the HBS faith. The first is about a … Read More
Teruko Harada(member of Butsuryūji temple in Kobe, Hyogo Pref., Japan) I inherited HBS faith from my father and have been a follower all my life. Today I would like to tell you the stories of the two most wonderful blessings … Read More
From the last days of the Tokugawa Shogunate to the Meiji Restoration, Nissen Shōnin (Seifū Nagamatsu), the founder of Honmon Butusyū Shū, lived through ever‐changing, and turbulent times. It was also the days of the Cholera pandemic. And since there … Read More
Q. A friend of mine is trying to take the Bar Exam. I am thinking I should pray for him to perform well. What kind of prayer should I make? A. I would recommend inviting your friend to the temple … Read More