Questions from a newcomer

KiwiNFLFan
Posts: 218
Joined: Thu Oct 05, 2017 10:15 am

Re: Questions from a newcomer

Post by KiwiNFLFan »

markatex wrote: Fri Nov 13, 2020 2:29 pm In Nichiren Shu, we typically only chant the verse section of Chapter 16 (called "Jigage," or "Verses of Eternity"). The full chapter is chanted on "special occasions."
Oh, so the standard morning and evening gongyo the first part of Chapter 2 (Hoben) and the verse section of Chapter 16 (starting 自我得佛來 ji ga toku bu rai)? What other prayers do you chant?

I've been using this gongyo book that I found on Scribd. Is this the standard Nichiren Shu liturgy (without the full prose section of Chapter 16? Are there any additional prayers that should be included?
markatex
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Joined: Fri Nov 06, 2009 1:33 am

Re: Questions from a newcomer

Post by markatex »

KiwiNFLFan wrote: Sat Nov 14, 2020 11:38 amOh, so the standard morning and evening gongyo the first part of Chapter 2 (Hoben) and the verse section of Chapter 16 (starting 自我得佛來 ji ga toku bu rai)?
Yeah, more or less. The verse section of Chapter 21 is also sometimes added.
What other prayers do you chant?
Generally, the format I use is:

Kanjo (Invocation)
Kaikyoge (Verses for Opening the Sutra)
Sutra Recitation
- Chaps. 2 & 16 (verse) are most common
- Chaps. 12, 21, and/or 25 (usually just the verses) are also sometimes recited, not necessarily in addition to 2 & 16.
- Nichiren Shonin’s Instructions
- Odaimoku
- Hotoge (This can be left out - it’s typically recited to a special beat played on the mokusho)
- Eko (Prayer)
- Shiguseigan (Four Great Vows)

The other things included in the gongyo book are usually just done in temple services, but that’s more or less the standard liturgy. There are variations from temple to temple; Nichiren Shu is a confederation of lineages, so not everything is strictly the same. Just fairly similar.
KiwiNFLFan
Posts: 218
Joined: Thu Oct 05, 2017 10:15 am

Re: Questions from a newcomer

Post by KiwiNFLFan »

Thanks for that.

I understand that Nichiren Shu temples use a mokusho - a cylindrical version of the mokugyo. Do laypeople use a mokusho (or mokugyo) for sutra chanting and odaimoku ?

I have a mokugyo, but I'm not sure if I should use it for chanting or not.
markatex
Posts: 429
Joined: Fri Nov 06, 2009 1:33 am

Re: Questions from a newcomer

Post by markatex »

I’m not sure if most lay people do. Some definitely do. I have a mokugyo that I use sometimes. It definitely helps to stay on beat and it helps the chanting to not be sluggish.
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