Three Great Secret Laws

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Three Great Secret Laws (三大秘宝) (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 Gohonzon of the essential teaching referring 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 (Harper Collins).

・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[]

  1. ^ Hajime, Nakamura (2002). Iwanami Bukkyo Jiten. p. 394.
  2. ^ "Teachings of Nichiren Shonin".
  3. ^ Nichiren Shoshu Temple (1999). "An Introduction to True Buddhism, p.12" (PDF).
  4. ^ "Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism".
Retrieved from ""