Three Great Secret Laws
Three Great Secret Laws (三大秘法) (or also "Three Great Secret Dharmas") are the fundamental teachings in Nichiren Buddhism, which include Hommon-no-honzon (本門の本尊: object of devotion of the essential teaching), Hommon-no-kaidan (本門の戒壇: sanctuary of the essential teaching), and Hommon-no-daimoku (本門の題目: daimoku of the essential teaching).[1]
The interpretations of each item are different by each school of Nichiren's teachings, such as Nichiren Shu sects, Nichiren Shoshu sects, Soka Gakkai branches.
| Nichiren Shu[2] | Nichiren Shoshu[3] | Soka Gakkai[4] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honzon | ・The Essential Focus of Reverence (Gohonzon)
・ Shakyamuni Buddha is none other than the embodiment of the Eternal Buddha: |
・ The Dai-Gohonzon, inscribed by Nichiren Daishonin on October 12, 1279 | ・In terms of the Personification: Nichiren representing the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law)
・In terms of the Law: Nichiren's mandala. (Currently in use: a transcribed copy of the Dai Gohonzon mandala from year 1720. ) |
| Kaidan | ・Any place where one chants the Odaimoku | ・The place where the Dai-Gohonzon will be enshrined at the time of Kosen-rufu | ・The place where one enshrines the object of devotion and chants Nam-myoho-renge-kyo |
| Daimoku | ・Namu-myoho-renge-kyo (embodies the essence of the Lotus Sutra, it contains all of the qualities of Buddhahood) | ・Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo (The True Invocation carries the significance of both faith and practice) | ・Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with belief in the Gohonzon of the essential teaching, which refers to the teaching of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, not to the essential teaching defined as the latter half of the Lotus Sutra |
(The table is summarized from the texts by each sect)
Further reading
・The collections of Nichiren's writings by each sect
・Nichikan (1725). Rokkan-shō (Six-Volume Writings)
・Montgomery, Daniel (1991). Fire In The Lotus. London: Mand ala (HarperCollins).
・Masatoshi Ueki (1992). Sanju-Hiden-Sho-Ronko (A study on the Sanju-Hiden-Sho) [in Japanese]. Kokoku-Shoin, Tokyo.
・Zuiei Itou (1992). Sandai hihou bonjouji no keiryoubunkengaku teki shin kenkyu [in Japanese]. Osaki haku-hou. No. 148
・Fumihiko Sueki (1999). Nichiren's Problematic Works. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, Vol. 26(3/4), pp. 261–280
Footnotes
- ^ Hajime, Nakamura (2002). Iwanami Bukkyo Jiten. p. 394.
- ^ "Teachings of Nichiren Shonin".
- ^ Nichiren Shoshu Temple (1999). "An Introduction to True Buddhism, p.12" (PDF).
- ^ "Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism".