Dai Gohonzon
Encyclopedia
Dai Gohonzon
The Dai GohonzonGohonzon
Gohonzon , is the object of devotion in many forms of Japanese Buddhism. In Japanese, go is an honorific prefix indicating respect and honzon means object of fundamental respect, veneration, or devotion...
, a mandala
Mandala
Maṇḍala is a Sanskrit word that means "circle". In the Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions their sacred art often takes a mandala form. The basic form of most Hindu and Buddhist mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point...
inscribed with Sanskrit and Chinese characters on a plank of Japanese camphorwood, is the object of veneration for some Nichiren Buddhists
Nichiren Shōshū
Nichiren Shōshū is a branch of Nichiren Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese monk Nichiren . Nichiren Shōshū claims Nichiren as its founder through his disciple Nikkō , the founder of the school's Head Temple Taiseki-ji...
; Dai means "great" or "supreme," whereas gohonzon means "object of devotion.". The mandala chiefly comprises the names of numerous buddha
Buddha
In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...
s, bodhisattva
Bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is either an enlightened existence or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and...
s, Buddhist deities, and Buddhist teachers around the characters
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
Nam-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō Nichiren written down the middle.
Nichiren and the Dai Gohonzon
NichirenNichiren
Nichiren was a Buddhist monk who lived during the Kamakura period in Japan. Nichiren taught devotion to the Lotus Sutra, entitled Myōhō-Renge-Kyō in Japanese, as the exclusive means to attain enlightenment and the chanting of Nam-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō as the essential practice of the teaching...
(日蓮) (February 16, 1222 – October 13, 1282), born Zennichimaro (善日麿), later Zeshō-bō Renchō (是聖房蓮長), and finally Nichiren (日蓮), was a Buddhist monk of 13th century Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
who inscribed the gohonzon. A controversial figure during his lifetime, he is the founder of Nichiren Buddhism
Nichiren Buddhism
Nichiren Buddhism is a branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th century Japanese monk Nichiren...
, a major Japanese Buddhist stream encompassing several schools of often widely conflicting doctrine.
- Note: This article deals with Nichiren's life from the perspective of the Fuji Branch, a collective name for the denominations (particularly Nichiren Shoshu) stemming from his disciple Nikkō. It describes Nichiren's inscription of the Dai-Gohonzon, a unique GohonzonGohonzonGohonzon , is the object of devotion in many forms of Japanese Buddhism. In Japanese, go is an honorific prefix indicating respect and honzon means object of fundamental respect, veneration, or devotion...
the Fuji Branch schools purport he inscribed as described below. Non-Fuji branches of Nichiren Buddhism dispute this history as well as the legitimacy of the Dai-Gohonzon, asserting that its inscription by Nichiren is not substantiated by documentary evidence attributable to him.
In the autumn of 1279, a number of Nichiren's lay believers in the Fuji District came into the crosshairs of Gyōchi (行智), the chief priest of a temple where Nisshū (日秀), one of Nichiren's disciples, lived. The believers, uneducated peasant farmers from the village of Atsuhara, had come to help Nisshū with the harvest of his private rice crop. Gyōchi saw this as his chance to get rid of a thorn in his side and called some local warriors to arrest the peasants, accusing them of illegally harvesting the rice. The peasants decided to defend themselves when the warriors arrived but were no match, and several were wounded; twenty were arrested and hauled off to Kamakura for trial.
When they arrived, Hei no Saemon was waiting for them; but his true purpose seemed to lie more in persecuting than prosecuting, since he attempted to intimidate the peasants into renouncing their faith—on pain of death if they didn't but in exchange for their freedom if they did. Yet despite repeated threats and even torture, they remained steadfast. Hei no Saemon even had three beheaded, but the other 17 refused to back down and he eventually freed them. These events took place on October 15, 1279.
In the Nichiren Shoshu tradition (other schools vary in their interpretation of this event's significance or dispute the claim that it occurred) Nichiren, observing from his disciples' reports that his followers were ready to sacrifice themselves in the name of their faith, decided that the time was ripe for him to "reveal" the Gohonzon
Gohonzon
Gohonzon , is the object of devotion in many forms of Japanese Buddhism. In Japanese, go is an honorific prefix indicating respect and honzon means object of fundamental respect, veneration, or devotion...
that he intended to fulfill the purpose his advent in this world (出世の本懐: shusse no honkai). On October 12, 1279, he inscribed the Gohonzon
Gohonzon
Gohonzon , is the object of devotion in many forms of Japanese Buddhism. In Japanese, go is an honorific prefix indicating respect and honzon means object of fundamental respect, veneration, or devotion...
known as the Dai-Gohonzon, which—in contrast to other Gohonzon
Gohonzon
Gohonzon , is the object of devotion in many forms of Japanese Buddhism. In Japanese, go is an honorific prefix indicating respect and honzon means object of fundamental respect, veneration, or devotion...
inscribed in this period—was intended for worship by all his disciples and believers, contemporary and future, rather than just the specific individual named on it.
More than One dai Gohonzon
Nichiren inscribed Gohonzons for particular individual followers, and he also inscribed other general Gohonzons (dai-Honzon). The DaiGohonzon at Taisekiji temple, and The Honin Myou DaiHonzon, enshrined in Myohon-ji temple at Hota - are examples of Gohonzons dedicated to all people : http://honmonshoshu.fujimon.org/himdh.htmWhether inscribing a mandala for individual recipients or a general Gohonzon for all people, Nichiren did not associate each Gohonzon he inscribed with a special letter of endorsment. Both dai-mandalas at Taisekiji and at Myohon Ji temple at Hota are not mentioned in any known letter of Nichiren. The authenticity of the Honin Myou daiHonzon is not disputed, and as such it can be regarded as a documentary proof of Nichiren's aim and intention of establishing a general Object of Devotion. Particulars of various Gohonzons may slightly differ, however, all these objects share the basic components of what constitutes the Object of Devotion. See Gohonzon
Gohonzon
Gohonzon , is the object of devotion in many forms of Japanese Buddhism. In Japanese, go is an honorific prefix indicating respect and honzon means object of fundamental respect, veneration, or devotion...
.
See also
- GohonzonGohonzonGohonzon , is the object of devotion in many forms of Japanese Buddhism. In Japanese, go is an honorific prefix indicating respect and honzon means object of fundamental respect, veneration, or devotion...
- Lotus SutraLotus SutraThe Lotus Sūtra is one of the most popular and influential Mahāyāna sūtras, and the basis on which the Tiantai and Nichiren sects of Buddhism were established.-Title:...
- NichirenNichirenNichiren was a Buddhist monk who lived during the Kamakura period in Japan. Nichiren taught devotion to the Lotus Sutra, entitled Myōhō-Renge-Kyō in Japanese, as the exclusive means to attain enlightenment and the chanting of Nam-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō as the essential practice of the teaching...
- Nichiren BuddhismNichiren BuddhismNichiren Buddhism is a branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th century Japanese monk Nichiren...
- Nichiren ShoshuNichiren ShoshuNichiren Shōshū is a branch of Nichiren Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese monk Nichiren . Nichiren Shōshū claims Nichiren as its founder through his disciple Nikkō , the founder of the school's Head Temple Taiseki-ji...
- Nichiren ShuNichiren ShuNichiren Shū is the name of a confederation of several Nichiren Buddhist schools that go back to Nichiren's original disciples...
- Soka Gakkai
Sources
- The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Soka Gakkai, 1999 (available online here.)
- The Life of Nichiren Daishonin. Kirimura, Yasuji. NSIC, 1980
Note: NSIC, publisher of the foregoing the above work, is no longer connected with Nichiren Shoshu.
External links
- Diagram of Dai Gohonzon An interactive guide to the text inscribed on the gohonzon and why each of the names and phrases are included. By Soka Gakkai InternationalSoka Gakkai Internationalis a lay religious movement within Nichiren Buddhism, a branch of Mahayana Buddhism derived from the teachings of the thirteenth-century Japanese monk, Nichiren Daishonin....
-USA. - Overview of Dai Gohonzon Information on the gohonzon and its meaning from Soka Gakkai InternationalSoka Gakkai Internationalis a lay religious movement within Nichiren Buddhism, a branch of Mahayana Buddhism derived from the teachings of the thirteenth-century Japanese monk, Nichiren Daishonin....
-USA. - "Better Than HD-TV," an article authored by a Soka Gakkai InternationalSoka Gakkai Internationalis a lay religious movement within Nichiren Buddhism, a branch of Mahayana Buddhism derived from the teachings of the thirteenth-century Japanese monk, Nichiren Daishonin....
-USA (SGI-USA) member that examines NichirenNichirenNichiren was a Buddhist monk who lived during the Kamakura period in Japan. Nichiren taught devotion to the Lotus Sutra, entitled Myōhō-Renge-Kyō in Japanese, as the exclusive means to attain enlightenment and the chanting of Nam-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō as the essential practice of the teaching...
's interpretation of the Lotus Sutra's Ceremony in the Air, also called the "Towering Assembly," and its relation to the gohonzon