Nam Myoho Renge Kyo Lotus Sutra Nichiren (1222-82) established the chanting of Nam-myoho-renge- yo as the !ay to a!

a en one"s #uddha nature and ta$ into the dee$est le%els of our e&istence' on !hich our o!n li%es and that of the uni%erse are one( )e first taught the in%ocation of the $hrase to a small grou$ at Seicho-*i tem$le in +!a $ro%ince' ,a$an' on +$ril 28' 12-.( Myoho-renge- yo is the name of the Lotus Sutra in ,a$anese $ronunciation of classical /hinese characters' and so the literal meaning of Nam-myoho-renge- yo is 01 de%ote myself to the Lotus Sutra(0 +s the follo!ing e&$lanation sho!s' there are dee$er le%els of meaning attached to each element of the $hrase(

Nam
Nam deri%es from the Sans rit !ord namu' meaning 0to de%ote oneself(0 Nichiren established the $ractice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge- yo as a means to enable all $eo$le to $ut their li%es in harmony or rhythm !ith the la! of life' or 2harma( 1n the original Sans rit' namu indicates the elements of action and attitude' and refers therefore to the correct action one needs to ta e and the attitude one needs to de%elo$ in order to attain #uddhahood in this lifetime(

Myoho
Myoho literally means the Mystic La!--the underlying truth or $rinci$le !hich go%erns the mysterious !or ings of the uni%erse and our life from moment to moment( Myo refers to the %ery essence of life' !hich is 0in%isible0 and beyond intellectual understanding( 3his essence al!ays e&$resses itself in a tangible form (ho) that can be a$$rehended by the senses( 4henomena (ho) are changeable' but $er%ading all such $henomena is a constant reality no!n as myo( Myo also means to o$en' to re%i%e' and to be fully endo!ed !ith the 5ualities !e need to de%elo$ our li%es(

Renge
Renge means lotus flo!er( 3he lotus blooms and $roduces seeds at the same time' and thus re$resents the simultaneity of cause and effect( 3he circumstances and 5uality of our indi%idual li%es are determined by the causes and effects' both good and bad' that !e accumulate (through our thoughts' !ords and actions) at each moment( 3his is called our 0 arma(0 3he la! of cause and effect affirms that !e each ha%e $ersonal res$onsibility for our o!n destiny( 6e create our destiny and !e ha%e the $o!er to change it( 3he most $o!erful $ositi%e cause !e can ma e is to chant Nam-myohorenge- yo7 the effect of #uddhahood is simultaneously created in the de$ths of our life and !ill definitely manifest in time( 3he lotus flo!er gro!s and blooms in a muddy $ond' and yet remains $ristine and free from any defilement' symboli8ing the emergence of #uddhahood from !ithin the life of an ordinary $erson in the midst of the struggles of day-to-day e&istence(

Kyo

Kyo literally means sutra' the %oice or teaching of a #uddha( 1n this sense' it also means sound' rhythm or %ibration( 1n a broad sense' kyo con%eys the conce$t that all things in the uni%erse are a manifestation of the Mystic La!(