The Meaning of the Practice of Chanting in Nichiren Buddhism

Abstract

Shōdai 唱題signifies the chanting of the title of the Lotus Sūtra. It is widely practiced by those Buddhist communities that believe in the Lotus Sūtra. To be accurate, you chant ‘Namu myōhō renge-kyō’ 南無妙法蓮華経 which consists of‘Namu’ 南無 (‘devotion’), and myōhō renge-kyō 妙法蓮華経 (Lotus Sūtra). Newly arisen religions in Japan believe in the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra often insist that this Shōdai benefits their believers in their lives. Now, let us see what Nichiren 日蓮 (1222–1282) thought and said about it, along with how Shōdai is understood in the modern age. Therefore, in this paper I consider the following three issues. What kind of significance did Nichiren mention about Shōdai? What are the common understandings of it by the modern scholars of the Nichiren doctrine? How do the current believers of the Nichiren sect think about Shōdai?