The whole teaching, chanted: Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō.
The school of the fierce thirteenth-century reformer Nichiren: the Lotus Sūtra as the Buddha's complete teaching, and chanting its title — the daimoku — as the practice entire. Exiled twice, nearly executed once, never quiet.
DeitiesNo creator — the eternal Buddha of the Lotus Sūtra venerated
Founded1253 CE · Japan
FounderNichiren
AfterlifeRebirth, until awakening — buddhahood available in this life
TextsLotus Sūtra · Gosho letters
The map
Nichiren Buddhism’s corner of it — solid lines are descent; dotted lines are resemblance only, ideas held in common across unrelated faiths. Click a node to recenter; ✕ returns here. All 171 faiths →
c. 1500 BCE Vedic Religion c. 480 BCE Buddhism 100 CE Mahāyāna 1253 CE Nichiren Buddhism
The Lotus Sūtra is the Buddha's complete teaching.
All previous sutras were preparation; the Lotus is the point — and it declares buddhahood open to everyone, now.
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Chanting the daimoku awakens buddhahood.
Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō — the title of the sutra, chanted, is the practice entire: cause and effect of awakening in one act.
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Faith is proved by daily life.
Winter always turns to spring, Nichiren wrote from exile — practice shows up as courage in ordinary trouble.
held by most
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Gongyo.
Recitation of Lotus Sūtra passages and the daimoku before the Gohonzon scroll, morning and evening.
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