Nichiren (日蓮; 16 February 1222 – 13 October 1282), born as Zennichimaro (善日麿), was a Japanese Buddhist priest who lived during the Kamakura period (1185–1333). Nichiren is known for his sole devotion to the Lotus Sutra, asserting that it was Shakyamuni Buddha's ultimate teachings and was the exclusive method to attain enlightenment.[2][page needed][3][4] Nichiren believed that the Lotus Sutra contained the essence of all of Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings related to the laws of causality, karma, without any distinction to enlightenment.[5][page needed][6][7][8][9][10][11] His interpretation of the Lotus Sutra centers on the emphasis of its 16th chapter, The Life Span of the Thus Come One, where he asserts his revelation that the chanting of Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō is the superior practice of today's age (Mappō).
Nichiren further justifies this practice of chanting Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō by attributing the natural and social calamities of his time to the inability of the Pure Land, Zen, Shingon, Ritsu, and Tendai schools to supernaturally protect Japan. Nichiren gained the attention of Japan's ruling Hōjō clan when his two Lotus Sutra-based predictions of foreign invasion and political strife were seemingly actualized by the Mongol invasions of Japanand an attempted coup within the Hōjō clan. The religious remonstration in which he made these two predictions, Risshō Ankoku Ron (立正安国論) (On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Security of the Land), is considered by Japanese historians to be a literary classic illustrating the apprehensions of that period.
While all Nichiren Buddhist schools regard him as a reincarnation of the Visistacaritra or Jōgyō (上行), the lineages from Nikko Shonin proclaim Nichiren as the "Original Buddha" from infinite aeons ago, addressing him the title of Daishonïn (Kanji: 大聖人, English: Great Sage) as well as the (本仏: Hombutsu) "True Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law" as taught Three Ages of Buddhism.[12][13][14]
Today, Nichiren Buddhism includes traditional schools such as Nichiren Shōshū, the Nichiren Shū confederation of schools, and modern lay movements such Kenshokai, Shoshinkai, Soka Gakkai, Risshō Kōsei Kai, and Honmon Butsuryū Shū and various others each claiming their own interpretations of Nichiren's teachings. The fundamental practice shared by all of them is the chanting of Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō.[11]
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The Three Ages of Buddhism, also known as the Three Ages of the Dharma, (simplified Chinese: 三时; traditional Chinese: 三時; pinyin: Sān Shí) are three divisions of time following Buddha's passing in East Asian Buddhism. The Latter Day of the Law is the third and last of the Three Ages of Buddhism. Mappō or Mofa(Chinese: 末法; pinyin: Mò Fǎ, Japanese: Mappō), which is also translated as the Age of Dharma Decline, is the "degenerate" Third Age of Buddhism.
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Nichiren Shōshū (日蓮正宗 English: Orthodox School of Nichiren) is a branch of Nichiren Buddhismbased on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese Buddhist priest Nichiren Daishonin (1222–1282).[citation needed] Nichiren Shōshū claims Nichiren as its founder through his disciple Nikkō Shonin(1246–1333), the founder of the school's Head Temple Taiseki-ji, located at the base of Mount Fuji.[citation needed] Nichiren Shōshū has adherents around the world, with the largest concentration in Japan,[citation needed]. The Myohoji Temple located in Los Angeles, California serves as the organization's headquarters in the United States.[citation needed] Its lay members are called the Hokkeko (法華講衆).[citation needed]
The main object of worship and veneration by its believers is the Dai Gohonzon, presently enshrined in Hoando building located in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture while the official logo used is the round crane (Japanese: Tsuru-no-Maru).[citation needed] Both its leadership and adherents ascribe a uniquely honorific title to Nichiren, as the Dai-Shonin (Great Teacher) while maintaining that the sole legitimate successor to both his ministry and legacy is Nikko Shonin alone and the successive high priests of Nichiren Shōshū.[citation needed]
The current 68th high priest of the temple priesthood is Nichí—Nyo Shonin.[1]
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