"Why do you chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo over and over and you spend so much time in praying? In comparison with other religions, their prayers are simple and short."
Thank you for your good question. We chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo repeatedly because, according to Nichiren Daishonin, this is the way *to activate our latent or dormant Buddha Nature* . Each individual, according to Buddhism, whether we believe it or not, possesses the potential or capacity for enlightenment, known as Buddha nature. *Each time we chant, it awakens our Buddha nature* to manifest our hidden potential and wisdom.
By unleashing our highest potential and Buddha's wisdom, we will have a more satisfactory and happier lives.
*In Buddhism, we are not praying to beg for mercy or seek help from an external or personified God. Instead, we believe that the Mystic Law of Life or Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is hidden in the depths of every person's life* . Therefore, even before we say our prayers to ask for our wishes, the Gohonzon or our Buddha Nature already knows what's in our minds and in our hearts because it is already there existing within each and everyone of us.
During our silent prayer when we conduct our Gongyo (recitation of the Liturgy of Nichiren Buddhism), we also offer prayers or petitions to the Gohonzon. But this is just a way of confirming that through our strong faith, all our dreams and prayers will come true. Even if we don't say it, the universe already knows.
However, the lives of all people, according to Buddhism, are just like tarnished mirrors that need to be polished so that they can reflect very clearly all the things around us. If it is dull, we will not see things clearly. And how can we polish our life's mirror? According to Nichiren Daishonin, we can only polish our life's mirror by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo repeatedly.
In the days of Nichiren Daishonin (13th century Japan), the mirror that they used was made of bronze. To reflect the image of a person with this kind of mirror, it is a must that this is wiped repeatedly with a cloth to make it shine. Each chant of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo can be likened to wiping the surface of the bronze mirror. The bad karmas that we have created from our past lives are like the dirt that accumulated on the surface of our mirrors.
In wiping the mirror repeatedly with a piece of cloth, it will gradually shine and eventually reflects the image clearly. When the mirror becomes clear, we can now see the things that need to be fixed in ourselves or remove the dirt from our faces. This is the same as cleansing our bad karmas
Hence, it's important that we polish our life's mirror through chanting abundant daimoku everyday.
Even in science, we have a physical law known as "electromagnetism". This law states that an ordinary metal that is repeatedly rubbed to a magnet will eventually become a magnet itself that can attract other metals within its reach. Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo over and over is like rubbing our lives to the magnet that is the Gohonzon. The longer we "rubbed" ourselves to the Mystic Law or the Gohonzon, the stronger the power of our lives becomes that will attract blessings and benefits from the entire universe.
If we only chant few Daimoku, the power of our lives to attract blessings into our lives is correspondingly weak. Of course, our chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo should be full of determination and conviction, not just lip service.
The powerful effect of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo can be partly explained by the Law of Vibration, Resonance, and Law of attraction. Like the atoms that make-up all things, everything constantly vibrates. There is a rhythm that the whole universe follows. And when we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, we align ourselves with that rhythm of the universe which brings us peace, happiness, and harmony.
There is no strict rules as to how long should we chant. According to one Gosho, chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo even once can bestow a person great benefits, how much more would it be if one chants 10, 100, 1,000, or 1 million times.
*The duration or the length of time we spent in praying/chanting should be based on common sense. If we have other responsibilities that need to be accomplished, we can just chant daimoku for a few minutes. But if we have extra spare time, we can accumulate more good fortune if we can chant lots of daimoku instead of watching TV or Netflix, or play computer games in the internet. As we are taught: " Faith equals daily life."*
Essentially, chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the most complete Buddhist practice, enabling all people today to awaken to their Buddha nature, the true aspect of their life. By expressing the essence of the Lotus Sutra as Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, Nichiren was able to establish a way for all people to achieve enlightenment, or absolute happiness.
*5 Ways To Focus Your Mind While Chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo*
1. Think About What You're Saying. The words nam myoho renge kyo are rich with symbolic meaning. ...
2. Think About What You Want. ...
3. Think About What You Already Have. ...
4. Think About Someone Else. ...
5. Think About Being Happy
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