Question

Hello everyone.

What exactly does it mean, in the fifth Silent prier of the Gongyō of the Nichiren Shōshū: "may I as well as others, appeased, return together to the serene light"?

Someone very close to me thinks she's in a similar state or place, thanks to a revelation or divine call she experienced a few months after going through a difficult ordeal, which prompted her to get baptized!

I confess I don't know what to say to him...

Answer

Hello

First of all, it's curious to note that all "divine apparitions" and "calls from God" often seem to fit into a pre-existing conceptual framework. This phenomenon has intrigued researchers in both theology and psychology.

Here are just a few of the avenues they have explored:

• The role of culture and education:
• • Frame of reference: Our culture and upbringing provide us with a set of concepts, symbols and beliefs that shape the way we perceive the world and interpret our experiences. When we encounter unusual or inexplicable events, we tend to interpret them through the prism of what we already know.
  • Language and communication: "divine messages" are often expressed through symbols, allegories or specific, culturally-rooted languages. To be understood, these messages must be based on a common foundation of shared knowledge and references.
• Psychological mechanisms :

o    Confirmation bias: We tend to seek out and favor information that confirms our pre-existing beliefs. Thus, a subjective experience may be interpreted as confirmation of a religious belief, even if it could be explained in a different way.

o    Projection: Our desires, fears and expectations can influence the way we perceive the outside world. We can project our own beliefs and desires onto an experience, giving it a particular meaning.

o    Mystical experience: Certain religious experiences can be associated with altered states of consciousness that can alter our perception of reality and encourage the appearance of subjective phenomena.

• Social role:

o    Belonging to a group: Religious beliefs enable us to feel part of a community and share common values. Religious experiences can reinforce this sense of belonging and be valued within the group.

o    Social influence: Accounts of religious experience can be influenced by social expectations and cultural norms. Individuals may have to conform their experiences to what is considered acceptable and desirable within their community.

Their conclusion

It's difficult to provide a single, definitive explanation for this complex phenomenon. The way we interpret "divine apparitions" is the result of a complex interplay of cultural, psychological and social factors. It's important to bear in mind that these experiences are often highly personal and subjective, and that there is no absolute truth about them.

Back to our 5^th Silent Prier.

"So may the benefit extend equally to the world of limitless dharmas, and may both self and other, appeased, return together to the serene light".

First of all, "Thus" is a linking word. The 5^ème sitting appearing at the end of the Gongyō and after the recitation of Daimoku, in other words, after we have accumulated the benefits inherent in these readings and recitations, we express our wish that these benefits will also reflect on the worlds of dharmas.

In the expression "worlds of dharmas", "dharmas" refers to the phenomena and existences, visible and invisible, of the sensory.

As for "worlds", we're talking about differences, since every world is different. In other words, we're talking about the "non-sentient".

We therefore hope that the benefits of the practice will be felt equally by the sensitives and non-sensitives of the ten worlds and the three thousand (domains, worlds, etc.).

As for the serene light, it designates the Buddha's state of life and his territory. The Transitional City chapter (seventh) of the Lotus Sutra states:

"Our wish is that, through these works and virtues, universally propagated to all, we and all beings together realize the path to Enlightenment".

The wording of our sit-down, "and may both self and other, appeased, return together to the serene light", also appears in Zhiyi's Great Stop and Contemplation.

In conclusion, it's clear that "calls from God" and "divine apparitions" are always phenomena that occur as a result of an external will, independently of our own will and on the basis of concepts we already know. This is the external path that has brought the world to its present state.

Buddhahood, on the other hand, access to the pure land of ever-serene light for ourselves and others, depends solely on our personal practice and the conversion of others. There's nothing mystical about it, it's all logic.

Question

In your answer, you talk about "Buddha and his territory". What is the Buddha's territory?

Answer

Traditionally, Buddhism distinguishes between the land of ordinary beings, called the "World of Endurance", and the land of the Buddhas, called the "Pure Land".

Zhiyi, for his part, distinguishes four categories of pure earth:

1. The land of the cohabitation of ordinary (beings) and saints (the two vehicles)
2. The land of means with remnant, where listeners and Buddhas for self live who have a remnant of who have a remnant of deluded views and thoughts.
3. The land of true, unfettered retribution, where the bodhisattvas live
4. The land of ever-serene light, endowed with the three body virtues of Dharma, wisdom and liberation, where the Buddhas live.

In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha reveals in several places that his land of ever-serene light is in fact the land of endurance.

Our problem, as ordinary people, is that we don't see the saints or the Buddha. In the Jiga stanzas, for example, we say "suigon ni fuken", which means "I'm near them, but they don't see me".

But rest assured, the Land of Serene Light is nowhere else but in the world of endurance.

In the Treatise on the Meaning of Substance, Nichiren Daishōnin writes in effect:

"He who honestly rejects means, has faith only in the Dharma Flower Sutra and recites Nam Myōhōrengekyō, sees the three ways of evil passions, karma and suffering transformed into the three virtues of dharma body, wisdom and liberation. The three visions and the three truths appear in his heart. The place where this man dwells is the land of ever-serene light".