Faith, Practice & Study: Three Pillars of Nichiren Buddhism
Faith, Practice and Study
Nichiren Daishonin states:
“Exert yourself in the two ways of practice and study. Without practice and study, there can be no Buddhism. You must not only persevere yourself, you must also teach others. Both practice and study arise from faith. Teach others to the best of your ability, even if it is only a single sentence or phrase.”
We want to apply Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism in our daily lives so that we can overcome challenges and attain absolute happiness .
So, the next question is:
How do we apply Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism in our daily lives?
A simple way to understand this is:
What → Nichiren Daishonin Buddhism
Why → To attain absolute happiness
How → Faith, Practice and Study
Faith, Practice and Study are the three pillars of applying Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism in our daily lives.
The Three Pillars of Buddhism
Think of Faith, Practice and Study as a tripod .
For a tripod to be stable, all three legs need to be aligned and balanced.
If one leg is missing or significantly weaker than the others, the tripod will not remain stable.
The same principle applies to Buddhist practice.
The three pillars are:
Faith
Practice
Study
All three work together to help us apply Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism in our daily lives.
1. Faith
Faith means belief and complete acceptance .
It is the foundation of Buddhist practice.
Faith includes belief in the Lotus Sutra and the Gohonzon .
Faith is the most important ingredient of Buddhist practice.
One way to understand faith is that faith, anxiety and doubt cannot exist together .
When we enter into Buddhism, faith represents our starting point—the first step .
Without faith, even if we diligently engage in practice and study, the foundation is missing.
Faith Is the Starting Point
One can enter into Buddhism through faith.
Having faith is therefore the starting point of Buddhist practice .
Faith gives us the conviction to practice and the determination to study and understand the teachings.
2. Practice
Practice means consistency and continuous engagement based on the foundation of faith.
At a basic level, practice means making solid efforts and maintaining the determination to transform and develop our lives .
Practice has two essential elements:
Practice for oneself
Practice for others
Both are important and need to go hand in hand.
Practice for Oneself
Practice for oneself, or primary practice , means striving to gain personal benefits from Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism.
This includes:
Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo
Doing Gongyo
Practicing with faith in the Gohonzon
Striving personally to attain Buddhahood and absolute happiness
Through continued daily practice of Daimoku and Gongyo , we polish our lives and bring forth our inherent potential.
It can be compared to polishing a mirror .
The more consistently we polish it, the clearer and brighter it becomes.
Understanding Gongyo
What Is Gongyo?
Gongyo refers to the recitation of portions of the Lotus Sutra .
It includes portions of:
The 2nd Chapter — Expedient Means
The 16th Chapter — Life Span
These are presented in the material as the two most important chapters of the Lotus Sutra.
Nichiren Daishonin explains the significance of polishing our lives through Buddhist practice:
“This is similar to a tarnished mirror that will shine like a jewel when polished. A mind now clouded by the illusions of the innate darkness of life is like a tarnished mirror, but when polished, it is sure to become like a clear mirror, reflecting the essential nature of phenomena and the true aspect of reality.”
This provides a powerful image for understanding Buddhist practice.
Our lives may become clouded by the illusions of fundamental darkness, but through consistent practice we can polish our lives and reveal their inherent potential .
Practice for Others
Practice is not limited to working for our own happiness.
The second aspect is practice for others .
Practice for others means:
Teaching others about Buddhism
Helping and assisting others to take on Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism
Supporting others as they strive to gain benefits from their practice
Sharing and spreading the teachings
The most important thing is the heart behind our efforts.
It is not necessary to be extremely eloquent or highly knowledgeable before introducing Buddhism to someone.
We simply need to teach others to the best of our ability .
As Nichiren Daishonin says:
“Teach others to the best of your ability, even if it is only a single sentence or phrase.”
Why Should We Practice for Others?
A natural question is:
Why should I practice for others?
The first reason is actually for ourselves .
When we introduce Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism to others, it can deepen our own faith.
It can also:
Bring forth compassion within us
Help us challenge our own fundamental darkness
Become a means for accumulating good fortune
Help us change our own karma
By striving for the happiness of others, we also challenge and transform our own lives.
Practice for Oneself and Practice for Others
Practice for oneself and practice for others must go hand in hand .
Think of them like the two wheels of a cart .
Both wheels need to move together and at the same pace for the cart to move forward smoothly.
In the same way, Buddhist practice involves both:
Striving for our own happiness
and
Striving for the happiness of others
Neither aspect should be neglected.
3. Study
The third pillar is Study .
Study means learning, probing and being curious about Buddhist principles.
It means developing an inquisitive spirit toward Buddhism.
Two important areas of Buddhist study are:
Goshos
Concepts of Buddhism
Through study, we can understand what is happening in our lives from the perspective of Buddhism .
Study helps us understand the reasons behind our practice rather than simply practicing mechanically.
Why Is Buddhist Study Important?
Without proper study, there is a risk that we may create our own interpretations of Buddhist teachings or give guidance based only on our personal understanding.
Studying the Goshos and Buddhist concepts gives us a foundation for understanding the teachings more accurately.
It also helps us deepen our faith and strengthen our practice.
Faith, Practice and Study Work Together
Faith, Practice and Study should not be viewed as three completely separate activities.
They are interconnected .
Think of them as a cycle:
Faith
↓
Strengthens our determination to Practice
↓
Practice gives us experiences and encourages us to Study
↓
Study deepens our understanding and strengthens our Faith
↓
Faith becomes stronger
↓
Practice becomes stronger
And the cycle continues.
This is why Faith, Practice and Study are the three pillars of applying Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism in daily life.
The Complete Picture
We can now put everything together:
What?
Nichiren Daishonin Buddhism
Why?
To attain absolute happiness
How?
Faith + Practice + Study
And within Practice:
Practice for oneself + Practice for others
These elements work together to help us transform our lives, overcome challenges and develop ourselves.
Key Points to Remember
Faith, Practice and Study are the three pillars of applying Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism in daily life.
Nichiren Daishonin states that without practice and study, there can be no Buddhism .
Both practice and study arise from faith .
Faith means belief and complete acceptance.
Faith is the starting point of Buddhist practice.
Practice means consistency, continuous engagement and solid effort to transform and develop our lives.
Practice has two aspects:
Practice for oneself
Practice for others
Practice for oneself includes chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo , doing Gongyo and striving to attain Buddhahood.
Gongyo involves reciting portions of the Lotus Sutra, including portions of the 2nd and 16th chapters .
Practice for others means teaching, supporting and helping others take on Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism.
Practice for oneself and practice for others are like the two wheels of a cart .
Study involves learning, probing and being curious about Buddhist principles.
Important areas of study include the Goshos and Buddhist concepts .
Study helps us understand our lives from the perspective of Buddhism.
Without proper study, there is a risk of creating our own interpretations or giving guidance based only on personal understanding.
Faith, Practice and Study form an interconnected cycle .
The purpose is to apply Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism in daily life and strive toward absolute happiness .
A Simple Way to Remember
The entire concept can be remembered through three questions:
WHAT?
Nichiren Daishonin Buddhism
WHY?
To attain absolute happiness
HOW?
Faith → Practice → Study
And remember that Practice has two wheels:
Practice for oneself ↔ Practice for others
When Faith, Practice and Study work together, they provide a strong foundation for applying Buddhism in our daily lives.