Chanting as “the Cause”
for revealing one’s Buddhanature

The practice of chanting is common among all indigenous spiritual practices and in all major religions.  The famous Christian call Hallelujah literally means “Voice your praise to the Lord” in Aramaic, Arabic and Hebrew languages. Chanting in itself is accepted as a valid spiritual practice.

Doubts about the practice of chanting reveals rather uncertainty and doubts about one’s belief in own Buddhanature.  If one believes that the Buddhanature is a potential existing in one’s life, then the question is: how to reveal one’s Buddhanature?

What is that specific action that must be carried out for the purpose of activating one’s Buddhanature?  In Buddhism, the concept of “action” or “cause of action” relates to three types of expressions: thought, voice and deeds.  The practice of chanting integrates the three dimensions of “cause”:

•  thoughts (all what occupy the mind during chanting, hopes, aspirations…),

•  the verbal invocation (of the Dharma),

• the action of engaging the physical aspect of “body” - with voice, sight and hearing active during chanting.

Chanting the phrase NamMyohoRengeKyo is the cause of making fusion (Nam) of the individual’s life - with the Dharma (MyohoRengeKyo), a fusion resulting in experiencing one’s Buddhanature. 

In this perspective, chanting is the direct path to revealing one’s Buddhanature (experiencing clarity of thinking, compassionate views, and feeling of lifeforce (or empowerment for action in dailylife).

The starting point, however, is one’s faith that one’s life possesses the potential state of Buddhanature. Belief in the validity of chanting can be developed through the actual proof of benefit, such as perceiving tangible evidence of change we desire in a situation (after we act based on chanting).  This can be done through testing the result of dedicating one’s chanting towards solving a certain problem in the reality of daily life that one encounters, or transforming a weakness we feel in our attitude, or also achieving a desired goal.

In order to make a shift towards creating a solution one needs correct action.  Chanting offers insight into the correct steps to take, as well as empowerment and courage (lifeforce) to act.  Correct causes of action are certain to lead to beneficial results:

“… human beings never fail to prosper when they make good causes”. - Nichiren

Voice and the Oneness of Body and Mind

The process of chanting expresses also the Buddhist principle of the ‘Oneness of Body and Mind’: The physical aspect of chanting (voice and engagement of bodily senses) - is inseparably integrated with the mental aspect (thoughts, feelings and desires) - during the practice of chanting.  Regarding the phenomenon of voice, Nichiren states:

“Thus one’s thoughts are expressed in one’s voice.  

The mind represents the spiritual aspect,

and the voice, the physical aspect.

The spiritual aspect manifests itself in the physical.

A person can know another’s mind by listening to the voice.

This is because the physical aspect reveals the spiritual aspect.

The physical and spiritual, which are one in essence,

manifest themselves as two distinct aspects.”

(The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, V1, p.86).

Words conveyed by voice possess a great mental power.  The mental power of voice is contained within the intellectual meaning of spoken words, as well as within the emotional aspect of the tone expressing feelings and spirit of conveyed message.  For example: through words of encouragement, the spirit of empowerment, hope and happiness are summoned up in the life of the listener.  Some spoken words can also have a negative effect and cause one to feel hurt and to suffer.

Words can move the heart and mind of people. This is a proof of the inseparability of the physical realm of voice vibrations - and the mental realm of the mind.