A Theological Interpretation of <br>the Veneration of Ancestors in Rissho Kosei-kai

A Theological Interpretation of
the Veneration of Ancestors in Rissho Kosei-kai

by Michio T. Shinozaki

Ancestor veneration is a skillful means for the practice of Buddhist teachings. In our organization, it is truly a Buddhist practice, though it involves a new interpretation of the traditional practice.

In Japanese, senzo kuyo literally means "giving offerings to the ancestors" or "service to the ancestors." The term is a compound of characters meaning "offering" or "service" and "ancestor." It does not mean worship in the sense of worshiping God. It is rather a custom of making offerings to the ancestors with respect, asking them to rest in peace if they died unhappy with ongoing resentment. In this article, the practice of making such prayers and offerings to the ancestors is called "veneration." The practice is said to be originally from ancient shamanic and animistic folk religions in East Asia. In Japan this practice has been assimilated into Buddhism and has become popular and widely accepted among the people.

Japanese Buddhism is a kind of sectarian Buddhism, as each sect has its own doctrine and its own founder as the most honored ancestor, sometimes as the main object of worship. A large majority of Buddhist groups are closely associated with what is called "funeral Buddhism." The family of the deceased asks monks to recite sutras to appease the dead. People believe that the recitation of a sutra contains the mysterious power of the Dharma and can calm the spirits of the dead and send them to the paradise of the Buddha.

When someone dies, he or she becomes one with the Buddha, also understood to be "great nature." When people die, they become hotoke, "the deceased," but the term also means "buddhas," as it is a homonym for the word meaning "the Buddha." Under the influence of the Shinto animistic ethos, it might be thought that when people die they eventually become the equivalent of kami (deities or gods).

Japanese Tendai thought facilitated the assimilation of ancestor veneration by Japanese Buddhism. In animistic thinking, mountains, rivers, plants, and trees have sacred lives. Each is thought to be precious, like a god. Further, in Tendai thought, every being possesses the buddha-nature. These two ideas easily came together. People vaguely imagine, as in animistic folk religion, that when any living being dies, none fails to achieve godhood. But in the case of human beings, the spirits of the dead who are still attached to this world with dissatisfaction and resentment cannot become buddhas, at least not immediately. The performance of Buddhist rituals for those spirits can help them.

In folk belief, the spirits or souls of the dead are thought to live after death beyond the nearest mountain or the sea. This means that the spirits or souls of the dead and their descendants are vaguely thought to be connected spatially, not completely separated by great distances. Paradoxically, among Buddhists the paradise of Amida Buddha is also vaguely believed to be in such places or in a westerly direction relatively far from this world. It is in this context that the veneration of ancestors in Japan should be understood.

Some may say that ancestor veneration has nothing to do with Buddhism, but I claim that such veneration is a great skillful means for the practice of Buddhist teachings. In Rissho Kosei-kai, ancestor veneration is truly a Buddhist practice, though it involves a new interpretation of the traditional practice.

1. The Relationship between the Three Treasures of Buddhism and Ancestor Veneration

Rissho Kosei-kai takes the veneration of ancestors to be an entrance to the Buddha Dharma. First, let us examine the relationship between the Three Treasures of Buddhism and ancestor veneration in Rissho Kosei-kai. The Buddhist profession of faith involves taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. The main object of worship or focus of devotion in Rissho Kosei-kai is "the Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni, Great Benevolent Teacher, the World-honored One." This characterization of the Buddha is thought to be faithful to the intention of the Lotus Sutra. In short, according to the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha (the historical Buddha born in India) is really the Eternal (or Everlasting) Buddha. In what sense is this so? Shakyamuni Buddha is awakened to the Dharma (the universal truth) and the Eternal Buddha is the symbolic form of this universal truth.

1.1. The Dharma is understood as the great life of the universe
Rev. Nikkyo Niwano understood the Dharma (Law) as the great life of the universe.

We understand that what we depend on, the Law [Dharma], exists both within and outside us. It is the truth that permeates the entire universe, not establishing a distinction between inside and outside. . . . All things, including society, heaven, earth, plants, birds, and beasts, are produced by this truth and are caused to live by it.

A person who feels the word "truth" to be somewhat cold and abstract can replace it with the term "the great life," which makes everything in this world exist and live. When we are firmly aware in the depths of our minds that we are given life by this great life that permeates the universe, we can obtain the true mental peace that is not disturbed by anything.

(Nikkyo Niwano, Buddhism for Today, p. 205)

Thus, the Dharma is understood as the great life of the universe. It is the source of our lives.

1.2. Ancestor veneration as a skillful means to experience the great life of the universe
One of the most important religious experiences in Rissho Kosei-kai is the "feeling" of "being enabled to live by the great life of the universe" or "being sustained by the Buddha." This is the experience of being released from the self-centered ego. All beings share the same great life of the universe, an everlastingly changing energy, within and without.

We are inseparably bound up with one another, and we all exist through being permeated by the same life-energy. In spite of this, opposition, dispute, struggle, and killing cause each of us to be swayed by his own ego and to live selfishly for his personal profit alone.

(Nikkyo Niwano, Buddhism for Today, p. 31)

This is an important reason why we must realize the truth that we are enabled to live by the great life of the universe.

Rev. Nikkyo Niwano thought that ancestor veneration is a natural act for human beings. This is because we are sustained or caused to live by the great life of the universe, which is the source of our existence, and of that of our ancestors. Therefore, ancestor veneration is a great skillful means to the realization of the great life of the universe that sustains our lives. He wrote:

In short, the teaching of Buddhism is to teach us the reality that we are given life by all things under heaven and on earth, the reality that we are given existence by the invisible. To sum it up, the teachings of dependent origination, of interrelatedness, the reality of all things in chapter 2 of the Lotus Sutra, and the eternal life in chapter 16 of the Lotus Sutra, to name all these, are all talking about the same thing.

(Nikkyo Niwano, Yakushin, April 1979)

Thus, ancestor veneration is a beginning of the acquisition of the Buddha's wisdom.

1.3. Thanks to our ancestors and the source of life we are alive
Rev. Nichiko Niwano believes that veneration of our ancestors is an expression of gratitude to parents, ancestors, and others, and to the source of life. He writes:

We are not born and raised under our own power. That we exist in the here and now is thanks to our parents, our ancestors, and many other people, and when we search for the source of life we come to understand that we are given life by eternal life--the Dharma of impermanence that has no beginning and no end. When we realize this and become aware of the origin of gratitude, we can all open our eyes to the preciousness of our own lives and the lives of others.

(Nichiko Niwano, Kosei, July 2005)

Because ancestor veneration includes the source of life, we come to appreciate that "we are given life by eternal life--the Dharma of impermanence that has no beginning and no end." Ancestor veneration is a skillful means to help us be aware of the Dharma of impermanence, which leads us to opening our eyes to the preciousness of our lives.

We are born as humans in this world. We know that we will certainly die some day. The truth of "everything is impermanent" is, at first glance, taken to be gloomy, and cold. However, if we observe this truth correctly, then a completely different world appears to us. That is to say, since "everything is impermanent" we become aware of the fact that we live now. We are thankful for today, and for our lives. It can be an occasion to awaken to the fact that the lives of all other beings are equally precious.

1.4. In Buddhism, to be born a human here and now is mysterious and precious
The Dhammapada says "It is a rare thing to be born a human." As a result of the accumulation of an infinite number of causes and conditions, we happen to have been given life in this world as human beings. When we consider what a rare event this has to be, we cannot help but feel what a mysterious, marvelous, and precious thing it is, for which we should be grateful. Ancestor veneration is a way to awaken to the mystery, joy, and preciousness of the fact that we are alive here and now.

1.5. Ancestor veneration is nothing but an extended notion of filial piety
There is a flow of life from the origin of life, our ancestors, our parents, to ourselves, our children, and our grandchildren. "When we awaken to the mystery, joy, and preciousness of being bestowed with life here and now, we naturally come to feel gratitude to our ancestors by faithfully showing affection and respect to our parents. In that sense, our parents serve as representatives of all our ancestors. . . . Filial devotion also means to treat ourselves, and our children and grandchildren when they come, with warm affection as those who are at the forefront of the stream of life" (Nichiko Niwano, Yakushin, June 2001). Filial devotion or ancestor veneration is also an act expressing concern for descendants or children who have the mysterious and rare gift of life.

In order to understand the Buddha's compassion in a concrete way, it is best to understand human love or compassion. Normally, the closest compassion for anyone comes from his or her parents. The parent-child relationship is a basic model for understanding the human relationship with the Buddha in the Lotus Sutra. The parent-child relationship can be a type of skillful means to appreciate the Buddha's compassion through feeling human affection (or appreciation) for parents and ancestors.

2. The Concrete Practice of Ancestor Veneration in Rissho Kosei-kai

2.1. The family altar and the symbol of faith (sokaimyo)
Reciting the Lotus Sutra is one of the most important daily practices for every member of Rissho Kosei-kai.

First of all, let me explain the sokaimyo. When you join Rissho Kosei-kai, you are given a sokaimyo, the symbol of faith, to enshrine in your Buddhist family altar. The sokaimyo is a rectangular piece of paper on which the names of the maternal and paternal sides of the family and a way of living the Dharma are written. It expresses the posthumous names of all the ancestors on both sides of the family. At the same time, the inscription on the sokaimyo describes the ideal of Buddhist life.

The word sokaimyo is a compound of so ("comprehensive") and kaimyo ("posthumous precept name"). Traditionally, a Buddhist priest, by giving kaimyo to the dead, prays for them to become buddhas. As the word so suggests "all," the sokaimyo implies a prayer that all the spirits of one's ancestors become buddhas. The fact that the names of both families are written down is unique. It is a departure from the traditional paternal system.

This paper tablet was derived from the practice of Reiyu-kai, to which Founder Nikkyo Niwano and Cofounder Myoko Naganuma belonged before they established Rissho Kosei-kai. Advocating lay Buddhism, Mugaku Nishida (1850--1918) gave Reiyu-kai a new form of kaimyo which always included the three kanji characters sei (life), in (place), and toku (virtue). Calling himself Jofukyo Mugaku, which means Never-Disrespectful Mugaku, he devoted himself to the veneration of all dead spirits, including those unrelated to him biologically. He gave the dead--both human and nonhuman, related and unrelated--posthumous names, praying that they could become buddhas through the power of reciting the Lotus Sutra.

The kanji characters on the sokaimyo exhibit "clearly the goal of human life based on Shakyamuni's teachings." Translated, they say:

To try to live a true (tai) life (sei), in the places (in) where we undertake religious practice, we must believe in and practice (do) the teachings (ho) expounded by Shakyamuni Buddha and taught by [Founder] Nikkyo Niwano. We must guide people to the faith with compassion (ji) and do only good (zen). The merit or virtue we accumulate thus is transferred (se) to our ancestors (senzo). The virtue (toku) of the paternal and maternal families (ke) arises (ki) out of our awakened mind (shin) aspiring to enlightenment (bodai)."

(Baba, Dharma World, April 1984, p. 13)

The first three characters, tai, sei, and in, signify the purpose of Buddhist life. What is the purpose of Buddhist life? The final aim is the perfection of self, or becoming a buddha. The next four characters show the teachings and the ideal practice of Rissho Kosei-kai. It is to do good deeds and to guide people to the faith with compassion. The rest of the characters show the two basic points of ancestor veneration: one is merit transference and the other is the development of virtue out of aspiration for awakening. This means that, on the one hand, our practice of the Buddha Dharma produces merit and such merit helps our ancestors to become buddhas. On the other hand, our aspiration for awakening includes an aspiration that our ancestors become buddhas, as our practice of Buddhism has become possible because of the merits and virtues of our ancestors. In other words, the fact that we are able to engage in such Buddhist practice is due to the merits and virtues of our ancestors. It is important to notice that the starting point of Buddhist practice is really the aspiration for awakening. Every day and evening, members recite from chapter 3 of the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings: "First, this sutra leads an unawakened bodhisattva to aspire to awakening."

2.2. Ancestor veneration is the ritual of revering the buddha-nature of ancestor spirits
The sokaimyo is consecrated with recitation of the twentieth chapter of the Lotus Sutra, "The Bodhisattva Never Disrespectful," by a Dharma teacher. This chapter teaches the practice of revering the buddha-nature of people, praying for them to become buddhas by practicing the bodhisattva way. Just as the Bodhisattva Never Disrespectful shows respect for people, people revere their ancestors by transferring merits and virtues produced through bodhisattva practice. The Bodhisattva Never Disrespectful says to people: "'I may not despise you; / You are followers of the Way / And will all become buddhas'" (The Threefold Lotus Sutra, p. 293). This bodhisattva believes that all beings can become buddhas. His practice is the practice of revering the buddha-nature in others. We can practice revering the buddha-nature of our ancestors by leading them to aspire to become buddhas.

3. The Problems of Karma and Transmigration in the Context of Ancestor Veneration

When we talk about ancestor veneration, we cannot avoid touching on problems of karma and transmigration. Dependent origination is understood as Buddhist causality. All things occur in the relation of causes, conditions, effects, and continuing influences. All things have causes. When causes come into contact with conditions or opportunities, the result appears as effects. These effects leave behind traces or residue or influences (see Nikkyo Niwano, Buddhism for Today, p. 188).

Let us look at the understanding of karma in Rissho Kosei-kai. Even though the Buddhist concept of causality is accepted, it is not a deterministic understanding of karma. Basically, the term karma means "deed." Buddhist karma is the causality of deeds. "Any deed is invariably accompanied by a result. All that we are at the present moment is the result of the karma that we have produced in the past. . . . The phenomenon that the results of deeds leave behind as a residue, as it were, is called "recompense" (Nikkyo Niwano, Buddhism for Today, p. 104). This is the Buddhist view of the causality of deeds.

3.1. Transmigrating until becoming buddhas
Rev. Nikkyo Niwano shared the common Japanese Buddhist concept that there is transmigration after death. Those who are not awakened "remain for some time in the state of intermediate existence (chu-u) in this world after death, and when this time is over, in accordance with the karma that we have accumulated in our previous life, we are reborn in another appropriate world" (Buddhism for Today, p. 102). In Buddhism, until we become buddhas, we are born again and again in this world according to the desires from our previous life, to which we are still attached. "If we die in an unenlightened state, our souls will return to the former state of ignorance, will be reborn in the six worlds (rokudo) of illusion. . . . And we will repeat this round to the end of time. Purifying our spirits by hearing the Buddha's teachings and practicing the bodhisattva-way can cut off this perpetual return of birth and death" (Nikkyo Niwano, Buddhism for Today, p. 104).

This means that as long as we are not awakened (or enlightened), our spirits or souls transmigrate in the eternal return of birth and death in the six worlds. I do not know whether, within the Buddhist framework, the individual soul or spirit continues to live after death. Yet, at least in Rissho Kosei-kai, a large majority of members have the vague concept that there is somewhere in which the dead stay and from which they will come back again to this world.

3.2. Karma remains in the subconscious and emerges as the power of karma

Karma is complex and serious. Our deeds, however trifling, leave traces physically, mentally, and environmentally. . . . Part of the traces of our deeds that are left on our minds remains on the surface of our minds; this includes memory, knowledge, habit, intelligence, and character. Another portion of the traces remains in the subconscious, in the hidden depths of our minds. Moreover, all the influences of the outer world by which we have been unconsciously affected, which include the experiences that we have had before our birth (indeed, since the beginning of mankind), are sunk in the subconscious mind. Karma includes all this. Though it was simply defined as deeds, in reality karma implies the accumulation of all our experiences and deeds since the birth of mankind, since even before that time. This is called the "karma of a previous existence" (shuku-go). The action of this karma is called the "power of karma" (go-riki).

(Buddhism for Today, p. 104--5)

Thus, our karma is not simply understood as our deeds, but also the karma accumulated from the beginning of our life itself, which is the power of karma in the hidden depths of our subconsciousness.

According to Rev. Nikkyo Niwano, the karma that we have now is complex and deep-rooted, yet its three basic aspects are seen: the former karma of the human race, the former karma of our ancestors and the deeds accumulated in our previous existences, and the present karma that we have produced in this life.

The karma that we have now is very deep-rooted and complex, and includes the "former karma" (shuku-go) that human beings have accumulated since their beginning. We also possess the "former karma" that we have produced ourselves in previous existences and to some extent the "former karma" that our ancestors have produced. And of course we possess the "present karma" (gen-go) that we have produced ourselves in this life.

(Buddhism for Today, p. 198)

3.3. This theory of karma is not deterministic
Rev. Nikkyo Niwano said, "The idea of karma teaches us clearly that one will reap the fruits of what he has sown" (Buddhism for Today, p. 105). This means that everyone must accept responsibility for the results of one's own actions. To some extent, we accept this truth. Yet some results are unexpected, and beyond our imagination. Still, the important point is that we can start accepting a given situation and the fact that our present existence is an important factor in determining our future through our own actions. The karma produced by our own deeds exerts an influence upon our descendants; we will naturally come to feel responsible for our deeds.

3.4. Interdependent origination as endless mutual influence of all things
Is it true that those who suffer and die in natural disasters had bad karma from previous lives? Karma is complex and mysterious. We should not understand causality as linear. Kogen Mizuno wrote about the complexity of interdependent origination:

Buddhism expresses this network of interrelationships in the phrase "one is all, all is one." As individuals we act in the totality of the world, just as the whole world is closely connected with each of us as an individual. Both actively and passively, human and physical phenomena are intimately related, like the warp and weft of cloth. Hua-yen philosophy calls this relationship interdependent origination, the endless mutual influence of all things.

(Essentials of Buddhism, p. 139)

Thus, it is impossible to identify which cause leads to which result. Rather, we share the same karma in the sense that we are sharing with one another the same time and space, culture, and history. It means that we are sharing the same karma in this world, on which individual karma depends. Within the framework of shared karma, individual karma differs from one person to another. Therefore, it is wrong to blame the suffering situations of people on their past karma. Victims are bodhisattvas who have taken the burden of human karma from us and reduced our shared karma.

In Rissho Kosei-kai ancestor veneration is not limited to our biological ancestors, but extended to the spirits of the unrelated dead. The boundary of solidarity depends on who the extended ancestors are. This signifies a partial realization of the solidarity or bond of all humanity as being in the same boat of shared karma.

3.5. Ancestor veneration is sharing the same sorrow and suffering
Ancestor veneration involves sharing the same joys and sorrows with our ancestors. It is not worshiping them as heroes, but rather sharing in the sorrows and suffering that they endured. In order to live, we must eat, which always involves taking the lives of other beings. We owe our lives to the sacrifices of others. This is a solemn fact. Through practicing veneration of the ancestors, we not only appreciate our ancestors' efforts but also repent for what our ancestors did for their survival and prosperity. In this sense we sincerely repent not only for our own past deeds but also for those of our ancestors, which have made it possible for us to live. This is a kind of purification of the past karma of our family. In this ritual, one is in touch with one's own ancestors' experiences and forming a community of memories embedded from the beginning of the human race.

3.6. Ancestor veneration involves hearing the Buddha's messages
Through practicing ancestor veneration, members receive messages from the Buddha. The Buddha always gives us messages appropriate for our spiritual level and our situation. This comes from the following passage from chapter 16 of the Lotus Sutra, which Rissho Kosei-kai members chant every morning and evening:

I, ever knowing all beings, / Those who walk or walk not in the Way, / According to the right principles of salvation / Expound their every Law, / Ever making this my thought: / "How shall I cause all the living / To enter the Way supreme / And speedily accomplish their buddhahood?"

(The Threefold Lotus Sutra, p. 256)

Here the Buddha's deep compassion is expressed through the bodhisattva way as performed by the Buddha. The eternal life of the Buddha is revealed in the concrete and practical activities of saving living beings through teaching the Dharma. The bodhisattva way is teaching the Dharma according to the needs and the level of understanding of living beings. The Eternal Buddha keeps this in mind, and watches over all the living, understands them, and leads all living beings to become buddhas. This also means that everything happening to us can be meaningful messages sent by the Eternal Buddha. This is because the Eternal Buddha is teaching us the Dharma of becoming buddhas.

According to chapter 16, the Buddha preaches six different ways for the deliverance of all living beings. Two of them are explained by Rev. Nikkyo Niwano. He wrote that the Buddha's message appears "in two different ways: 'direct appearance' and the 'negative appearance.'" His message can appear in a direct and straightforward manner, but it sometimes comes as a "negative phenomenon." Such events always pave the way for one's future salvation (see Buddhism for Today, pp. 227--28). The Buddha teaches us in a direct helping way or in a negative way. Usually, it is easy to accept a direct and helping way for which we are immediately grateful. Seemingly happy and fortunate events happen to us. In the case of a negative way, seemingly unhappy and unfortunate events happen to us. They can cause us to reflect on ourselves and on our past deeds.

In the "Devadatta" chapter of the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni says that all was "due to the good friendship of Devadatta." This means that "all things, whether good or evil, are means to enlightenment." In this case salvation comes from a negative phenomenon (see Nikkyo Niwano, A Guide to the Threefold Lotus Sutra, p. 89).

I think that seeing whatever happens as having a lesson to be learned is a matter of faith, based on the Buddhist idea of causality. On the one hand, if we make such a condition (en) a moment of awakening to faith, then any condition turns into a good condition, and good results. Suppose I am a cause in a certain condition. If I take this condition as good, then the result will be a good result. As a cause, the effect I may have differs depending on whether I take a condition as a gain or a loss, as good or bad, or as a cause of suffering or of an opportunity for self-reflection. One of the most important ideas in Rissho Kosei-kai is expressed in the motto "Everything depends on the way you understand and accept a situation. If you change your heart and mind, the world will change." Rev. Nikkyo Niwano says that this idea is the gist of the Three Thousand Realms in One Thought (ichinen sanzen) concept found in Tendai thought.

Suppose an unfortunate thing unexpectedly happens to us. We usually ask ourselves, "Why me?" Is it because previous karma made it so? How far can the individual take responsibility either for one's present or previous lives? Events can provide an occasion for reflecting on ourselves and receiving a message from the Buddha. If we can accept an unfortunate thing as our responsibility, then we can repent for our actions in our present life. And even if we cannot accept it in such a way, we can try to find some message being given to us by the Buddha.

According to Rev. Nikkyo Niwano, there are two types of birth: birth through karma and birth by aspiration (gansho). In chapter 10 of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha says: "[You should] know, Medicine King, these people have already paid homage to ten myriad kotis of buddhas and under the buddhas performed their great vows; therefore, out of compassion for all living beings they are born here among men" (Dharma World, May/June 2005, p. 46). Birth through karma is when humans are born in the six realms of existence according to their own karma. This type of birth is on the unawakened level of clinging to delusions. On the other hand, "birth by aspiration" is when humans take rebirth because of a vow to help all others out of sympathy for living beings suffering in this world. People born in this way have worked under the buddhas to fulfill their great vow to be born here among people (see Dharma World, May/June 2005, p. 48). In this sense, a person born handicapped has a "birth by aspiration." They are bodhisattvas fulfilling their great vow to be born in this world out of sympathy for suffering people. It seems that when the Buddha's message comes from "a negative phenomenon," it always paves the way for future salvation.

Robert Kisala gives an example of how a member understands the fact that his own daughter was born handicapped.

So, why was my child born like this? . . . Not to gloss over all the problems they face, but it is the mentally handicapped who are really gentle, genuine, and innocent. As other children grow older they gain in wisdom and knowledge, but they also become capable of doing wrong. When I realized this for the first time, rather than thinking about the cause of her handicap, I thought that instead I have much to learn from her genuineness and purity. The more I learn about the Lotus Sutra the more I realize that the idea that there is a cause in the past for what occurs in the present is different from the teaching of the sutra. So what should we do now? We have accepted that there is a handicap, but what should we do about it? Give up and try to live in some safe place. Or rather accept that you have a handicap, but even given that, choose to do your best to make the most of it. That's what I think the issue is, and in that regard, in the Lotus Sutra it says that you choose the place where you are to be born, where you might best be able to proclaim the teaching of the sutra, where you might best be able to fulfill your own role. Before the Buddha, you choose and then are born. That's how I think about my daughter's birth. In the future I would like for her to be able to accept this teaching, and at that time rather than being caught up in questioning why she was born this way I hope she will be forward-looking. That's possible because one has faith, because one believes that the gods and buddhas are protecting you, and that way you can give hope to others in similar straits.

(Kisala, "Contemporary Karma," p. 88) In Rissho Kosei-kai, veneration of ancestors gives the members hope to live for the future through study of the Lotus Sutra, rather than reflecting on the karmic causality of past deeds, in which we cannot know the mysterious complexities of karma. The important point is that we are able to change the situation by understanding and accepting such a condition.

3.7. Our inevitable existence and mission
Through practicing ancestor veneration, we are led to realize that we are not just contingent accidents, but that we were inevitably born into a particular family. This is the reality of the continuity of our lives with the lives of our ancestors and parents. We are not mere products of chance. We are destined to be born in this particular family on the one hand, and on the other hand, we choose to be born in this particular family with such parents and such brothers and sisters. We cannot escape from this. We tend to say, "I wish I could have been born in a rich family," or "I wish I could have been much smarter and good-looking." But according to this principle, we needed to be born, or we wanted to be born, in this way. In other words, we have to start from this given situation and have to be aware of this situation and deal with this situation. Thus, ancestor veneration is the ritual by which each member of the family is led to be aware of being situated in a given circumstance. That is to say, it is an orientation of searching for one's own identity and given mission. It is also one of the quickest ways to be aware of this inevitable and unavoidable situation of our own causal story from previous lives. Everyone has a mission given by the Eternal Buddha, called his or her causal story from previous lives. Our life is one of developing this causal story from the past and finally becoming buddhas. As long as we are in this world, we are given some mission to realize, some reason to exist. In the depth of our hearts something is waiting for us or is needed to be realized by us in our lifetimes. Thus, ancestor veneration is a skillful means to realize one's own unavoidable mission given by the Eternal Buddha.

4. Liberation from Karma through Meditation and Ancestor Veneration

How do we become free from karma and become buddhas? How do we purify our subconscious minds of the residues of past karma? Even if we try to take shared karma positively, or take unfortunate happenings as messages from the Buddha, sometimes we can think about such things only superficially. This raises the issue of meditation or recitation.

According to Rev. Nikkyo Niwano, one solution is meditation, which leads us to awaken to the oneness of our lives with the life of the universe.

We must keep firmly in mind the realization that our lives [the buddha-nature] should be unified with the universal life (the Buddha). This indeed is meditation from the religious point of view. Through this kind of meditation, we can purify even the mind of which we cannot be conscious ourselves, that is, our subconscious mind. . . . Our consciousness of being enlivened by this great universal life gives us great hope and courage.

(Buddhism for Today, pp. 205--6)

We have already discussed the idea that the veneration of ancestors fits into meditation through appreciating the continuity of life from the great life of the universe, ancestors, and parents to ourselves. Chanting the o-daimoku (Namu Myoho Renge-kyo) and performing ancestor veneration are ways of keeping firmly in mind that our lives are ultimately united with the great life of the universe. In the daily practice of reciting passages from the Lotus Sutra in front of a family altar, we chant the o-daimoku, which means, "I take refuge in the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma." It is a kind of mantra by which we express acceptance of the great life of the universe.

4.1. The o-daimoku and recitation of the Lotus Sutra with body, mouth, and heart/mind
In Rissho Kosei-kai practice, the sutra should be read with the mouth, with the body, and with the heart and mind. It is not enough only to chant the o-daimoku. Chanting the o-daimoku is a matter of using the mouth to read the compacted sutra. When we recite the sutra by mouth, then the mysterious power of the sutra comes into us. But this is not enough; we also have to read it with our bodies. Reading with the body means doing what the sutra teaches. And it is not enough just to do what it says. We have to read it with the heart and mind also. Our hearts/minds become filled with the sutra. We are shaped by the spirit of the sutra. This threefold way of reading is the essence of Rissho Kosei-kai's practice of the faith. In this way, the spirit of the sutra and our hearts can become one.

4.2 The o-daimoku and sutra recitation are methods of repentance for purifying bodies and minds
Chanting the o-daimoku and the sutra wholeheartedly comprises the main practice in everyday ancestor veneration before the family altar. It is a practice of repentance for purifying our bodies and minds. The notion of repentance in Rissho Kosei-kai means to reflect upon oneself and take corrective action in the light of the sutra. The o-daimoku represents the entire Lotus Sutra. In "The Meditation on the Dharma Practice of Universal Sage Bodhisattva" in the Threefold Lotus Sutra, the following words occur:

Anyone who recites and reads the sutras of the Great Vehicle, the Expansive Teaching, should know that these sutras convey the blessings of a Buddha and that they, having extinguished their long-standing evils, are born of Buddha-wisdom.

(Reeves, p. 424)

This shows that chanting the o-daimoku and the sutra wholeheartedly is a practice of repentance.

The Sutra of Meditation on the Dharma Practice of Universal Sage Bodhisattva teaches us the true meaning and method of repentance so thoroughly that it is commonly called the "Sutra of Repentance." The essence of repentance in Buddhism is summed up in the following lines, which the members usually chant morning and night:

Should [one] wish to repent of [it],
[One] should sit upright and meditate on the true aspect [of all things].
All sins are just as frost and dew,
[So] wisdom's sun can disperse [them].

(Kyoden: Sutra Readings, pp. 73--75)

These lines are so sacred and important that we think we should learn them by heart and constantly keep them in mind.

According to Tendai thought, the teachings of the Buddha bear fruit instantly, regardless of time or place. If we chant the o-daimoku, we can be sure that the result of such action (becoming a buddha) is instantaneous. It means that we become buddhas while chanting. By repenting of our sins through chanting, the dispersing of sins is already realized. This is the meaning of the simultaneity of flower and fruit. In Rissho Kosei-kai, the ideas of instantaneity and simultaneity, on the one hand, and the idea of gradual process, in terms of becoming buddhas, are both paradoxically held to pertain to reciting the sutra, chanting the o-daimoku, and performing other bodhisattva practices. This involves a paradoxical experience of being already a buddha and at the same time of becoming a buddha by repenting for actions in everyday life. In order to become aware of becoming buddhas, we chant the sutra and practice the bodhisattva way.

Conclusion

Rev. Nikkyo Niwano spoke of ancestor veneration in this way: "Living a life of true repentance and gratitude for the perfection of character is nothing other than transferring merits to ancestors" (Baba, Dharma World, April 1984, p. 14). People are grateful to their parents and ancestors who have passed precious life on to them. They repent daily of all wrongdoing, and make vows to strive for meaningful lives and to become buddhas, and to transfer the merits of these good deeds to their parents, ancestors, and the Buddha. Ancestor veneration through reciting the sutra is a way of perfecting our character or becoming a buddha. Practicing the veneration of ancestors, members recite the sutra and purify themselves or their karma, shaping themselves by the words of the Buddha in order to become buddhas themselves.

The members close the recitation of the sutra with a Vow of Universal Transfer of Merit: "May we all together with all living beings / Accomplish the Way of the Buddha / Through this merit [of reciting this sutra] / To be extended universally to all living beings" (Kyoden: Sutra Readings, p. 77). Our wish is to spread the virtue and merit of reciting the sutra and practicing the bodhisattva way to everyone in the universe, so that all can become buddhas together.

Bibliography

Baba, Kazuhiro. "Sokaimyo and Kaimyo," Dharma World, April 1984, Tokyo: Kosei Publishing Co.
Dharma World, May/June 2005 issue, Tokyo: Kosei Publishing Co.
Kato, Bunno, W. E. Soothill, and Wilhelm Schiffer, trans. The Threefold Lotus Sutra, Tokyo: Kosei Publishing Co., 1975.
Kisala, Robert. "Contemporary Karma: Interpretations of Karma in Tenrikyo and Rissho Kosei-kai," Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 21/1, 1994.
------. Gendai shukyo to shakai rinri: Tenrikyo to Rissho Kosei-kai no fukushi-katsudo o chushin ni (Contemporary Religion and Social Ethics: Focusing on Social Welfare Activities of Tenrikyo and Rissho Kosei-kai). Tokyo: Seikyusha, 1992.
Kosei (a monthly magazine for Rissho Kosei-kai members), July 2005, Tokyo: Kosei Publishing Co.
Kyoden, Tokyo: Rissho Kosei-kai, 1938.
Kyoden: Sutra Readings (Romanized Japanese and English translation), Tokyo: Rissho Kosei-kai, 1968.
Mizuno, Kogen. Essentials of Buddhism, Tokyo: Kosei Publishing Co., 1996.
Niwano, Nikkyo. Buddhism for Today: A Modern Interpretation of the Threefold Lotus Sutra, New York: Weatherhill, 1961.
------. The Lotus Sutra: Life and Soul of Buddhism, Tokyo: Kosei Publishing Co., 1970.
------. A Guide to the Threefold Lotus Sutra, Tokyo: Kosei Publishing Co., 1981.
------. Shakyamuni Buddha: A Narrative Biography, Tokyo: Kosei Publishing Co., 1980.
------ Shinshaku Hokke Sanbukyo (The Threefold Lotus Sutra: A Modern Commentary), 10 vols., Tokyo: Kosei Publishing Co., 1964.
Reeves, Gene. "The Threefold Lotus Sutra." Unpublished translation.
Rissho Kosei-kai Doctrinal Department, ed. "Subete wa jibun" "mazu hito-sama" to iu ikikata (Mindfulness and Respect for Others in Everyday Life), Tokyo: Kosei Publishing Co., 2003.
Umetsu, Reiji. "Senzo kuyo ko: Shoki Reiyu-kai ni miru shiryo-kuyo no ichi-sokumen" (Thoughts on Ancestor Veneration: One Aspect of the Memorial Service for the Departed Souls in Early Years of Reiyu-kai), Tokyo: Chuo Academic Research Institute, 1989.
Yakushin (a monthly magazine for Rissho Kosei-kai members), June 2001, Tokyo: Kosei Publishing Co.

Michio T. Shinozaki, formerly director of the General Secretariat of Rissho Kosei-kai, is president of the organization's Gakurin seminary in Tokyo. He received a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, in 1988. He has contributed a number of articles on Buddhist ethics to various journals.

This article was originally published in the July-September 2007 issue of Dharma World.


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