"Exert yourself to strengthen your faith so that you will be blessed by the protective powers of all the Buddhas of the past, present and future. Do your best in the two paths of practice and study, without which Buddhism cannot exist.

Put them into practice individually and teach others to do the same. Buddhist practice and study should be based on faith. Do your best to spread the Lotus Sutra to others, even if only a word or a phrase."

Nichiren, Shoho Jisso Sho (The Reality of All Dharmas)
 

The Five Practices of the Lotus Sutra
The Lotus Sutra teaches that there are five kinds of practices that should be performed, which are:
- to receive and keep the Sutra within one's body and mind
- to read the Sutra with the eyes
- to recite the Sutra
- to explain the Sutra to others
- to copy the Sutra

Receive and Keep the Sutra
In order to receive and keep the Lotus Sutra, you must have a heart to believe in the teaching. That fundamental heart is called "faith" (Shin) and "praying" (Nen). Having faith in the Lotus Sutra means that we take the teaching into our daily life and follow it. Therefore, we should not receive and keep the Sutra with a vague mind.

Read the Sutra
Reading the Sutra does not mean simply "reading" the letters of the Sutra, but signifies reading the Sutra with understanding. However, if you have read the Lotus Sutra, you may think that the Sutra is very difficult to understand. So we hold study classes on the Lotus Sutra to help you understand the Sutra more clearly. By participating in the class and listening to the priest's lectures, you will be able to understand the teachings of the Sutra that you didn't understand before.

Recite the Sutra
Not only reading the Sutra silently with your eyes but reciting out loud with a clear and resonant voice is another essential practice. We usually recite chapters two (Hoben-pon) and sixteen (Nyorai Juryo-hon) at temple services and at our daily family service in our homes. The reason why these two chapters are recited most often is the two chapters expound the most important teachings of the Lotus Sutra. Chapter 2 expounds that everyone is able to become a Buddha and chapter 16 expounds that Sakyamuni Buddha's life is eternal. But even if you recite other chapters of the Sutra besides chapters 2 and 16, it is also great reciting practice, because every single letter of the Lotus Sutra is as valuable as the Buddha himself.

Explain the Sutra to Others
Next, when you achieve understanding of the Sutra, do not keep the merit only to yourself, but try to transfer what you have learned from the Sutra to your family, friends and other people around you. It is said in the Lotus Sutra that by being transferred one after another, the merit that the fiftieth person who has received it is as great as that received by the first one.

Copy the Sutra
And finally, there is a practice of copying the Sutra. You may copy the Lotus Sutra in Kanji characters or in English. Nichiren Shu is promoting a practice of copying Odaimoku of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo.

Odaimoku

The practice of the Lotus Sutra in Era of Mappo - the Declining Latter Age of the Dharma.
Our founder, Nichiren Shonin aimed to save people living in this defiled time of Mappo, Declining Latter Age of the Dharma. He appealed to them to take the good medicine, the Odaimoku of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. The Odaimoku was left by the Eternal Buddha for people of the Mappo Period and was revealed by Nichiren Shonin from the bottom of the scriptures of the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren Shonin wrote in "Kanjin Honzon Sho," 'All the good deeds and virtues of the Buddha Sakyamuni are manifested in the title of the Lotus Sutra, that is, in the five letters: "Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo." However sinful we may be, we shall be naturally endowed with all the deeds and virtues of the Buddha if we adhere to these five letters.'

He teaches us that the right practice in the Mappo Period is to keep and maintain a solid faith and practice of the Odaimoku, Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. By practicing in this way, we will receive the greatest merit from the Buddha. Receiving and maintaining a solid faith and practice of the Odaimoku is exactly equal to receiving and maintaining a solid faith and practice of the Lotus Sutra, reciting the Odaimoku is equal to reciting the whole Lotus Sutra, and copying the Odaimoku is equal to copying the entire Lotus Sutra.

A question, "How many times should I chant the Odaimoku ?" is asked very often. Of course, the more Odaimoku you chant, the more merit you will accumulate and the greater benefit you will receive. But some people abuse this by saying, "If you do not chant Odaimoku 100 times or 1,000 times everyday, you will fall into hell." There is no authority to prove such a statement, and on the contrary, such a ridiculous statement perplexes people who have pure faith in the Buddha and Nichiren Shonin. No matter how many times you chant the Odaimoku, when you chant with faith, admiring the Buddha, respecting Nichiren Shonin and appreciating everybody around you from the bottom of your heart, your merit is truly equal to the merit of the Lotus Sutra consisting of 8 volumes, 28 chapters, 69384 letters. As long as your time permits, please try to chant Odaimoku from the bottom of your heart.

Shodaigyo: The practice of Odaimoku Chanting
At Nichiren Shu Temples a form of meditation called Shodaigyo is practiced on a regular basis along with other types of services. Shodaigyo is the practice of chanting the Odaimoku. There are several styles of service in the Nichiren Shu, Shodaigyo is one of these styles.

Sometimes, within Nichiren Shu we refer to traditional seated meditation as "silent meditation", while we refer to the chanting of Odaimoku as active meditation - as the repeated recitation of the Mantra of the Lotus Sutra is a verbal and focused concentration on the Buddha's enlightened life.

Meditation
According to the Buddhist tradition, the form, style and technique of meditationmay vary. At Renkoji Temple, we observe traditional silent meditation but also promote Nichiren Shu Shodaigyo Meditation (as explained above). During the meditation section of the Shodaigyo Meditation Service, one may focus on one's breath, a concept of Buddhism or simply try to purify one's mind and heart, bring harmony to one's mind and body, and reflect on the merits of the Odaimoku.

Morning and evening services at home
The most important practice at your home is morning and evening services. At the morning service, let us pray to the Buddha and Nichiren Shonin for our family's safety and best effort on their work and school, doing good deeds following the Dharma and contributing to other people in the community. At evening service, let us show our appreciation for our family's safety throughout the day. This is the basic format of our daily service, observed both at home in front of our family altar or at the temple:
- Taking Refuge in the Three Treasures
- Invocation (Invitation to the Three Treasures of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha to be present at our service)
- Kaikyo-ge (Verses for Opening the Sutra)
- Lotus Sutra Chpt. 2 Hoben-pon
- Lotus Sutra Chpt. 16 Juryo-hon (Jiga-ge)
- Reading of a passage from the writings of Nichiren Shonin
- Chanting of the Odaimoku: Namu Myoho Renge Kyo
- Hoto-ge (The Difficulty in Keeping this Sutra, last portion of Chpt. 11)
- Prayer
- Four Great Vows of a Bodhisattva:

Sentient beings are innumerable; I vow to save them all.
Our evil desires are inexhaustible; I vow to quench them all.
The Buddha's teachings are immeasurable; I vow to study them all.
The way of the Buddha is unexcelled; I vow to attain the path sublime.

As previously mentioned, chapters 2 (Hoben-pon) and 16 (the Jigage portion of the Juryo-hon) are recited the most frequently; however, you may recite chapt. 12 (Daibadatta-hon), entire chapt. 16 (Juryo-hon), chapt. 21 Jinriki-hon (the entire achater or the Gatha section from "Shobukkusesha") or chapt. 25 Kannon-gyo. Furthermore, it is a great practice to recite the whole Lotus Sutra from the beginning, little by little everyday. You may choose which chapter to read by yourself.chapt.