Three Great Secret Laws (三大秘法) (or also "Three Great Secret Dharmas") are the fundamental teachings in Nichiren Buddhism, which include Hommon-no-honzon (本門の本尊: object of devotion of the essential teaching), Hommon-no-kaidan (本門の戒壇: sanctuary of the essential teaching), and Hommon-no-daimoku (本門の題目: daimoku of the essential teaching).[1]

The interpretations of each item are different by each school of Nichiren's teachings, such as Nichiren Shu sects, Nichiren Dhoshu sects, Soka Gakkai branches.

Nichiren Shu[2] Nichiren Shoshu[3] Soka Gakkai[4]
Honzon ・The Essential Focus of Reverence (Gohonzon)

・ Shakyamuni Buddha is none other than the embodiment of the Eternal Buddha:

 ・ The Dai-Gohonzon, inscribed by Nichiren Daishonin on October 12, 1279 ・In terms of the Personification: Nichiren representing the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law)

・In terms of the Law: Nichiren's mandala. (Currently in use: a transcribed copy of the Dai Gohonzon mandala from year 1720. )

Kaidan ・Any place where one chants the Odaimoku ・The place where the Dai-Gohonzon will be enshrined at the time of Kosen-rufu ・The place where one enshrines the object of devotion and chants Nam-myoho-renge-kyo
Daimoku ・Namu-myoho-renge-kyo (embodies the essence of the Lotus Sutra, it contains all of the qualities of Buddhahood) ・Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo (The True Invocation carries the significance of both faith and practice) ・Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with belief in the Gohonzon of the essential teaching, which refers to the teaching of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, not to the essential teaching defined as the latter half of the Lotus Sutra

(The table is summarized from the texts by each sect)

Further reading

・The collections of Nichiren's writings by each sect

・Nichikan (1725). Rokkan-shō (Six-Volume Writings)

・Montgomery, Daniel (1991). Fire In The Lotus. London: Mand ala (HarperCollins).

・Masatoshi Ueki (1992). Sanju-Hiden-Sho-Ronko (A study on the Sanju-Hiden-Sho) [in Japanese]. Kokoku-Shoin, Tokyo.

・Zuiei Itou (1992). Sandai hihou bonjouji no keiryoubunkengaku teki shin kenkyu [in Japanese]. Osaki haku-hou. No. 148

・Fumihiko Sueki (1999). Nichiren's Problematic Works. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, Vol. 26(3/4), pp. 261–280

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Hajime, Nakamura (2002). Iwanami Bukkyo Jiten. p. 394.
  2. ↑ "Teachings of Nichiren Shonin".
  3. ↑ Nichiren Shoshu Temple (1999). "An Introduction to True Buddhism, p.12" (PDF).
  4. ↑ "Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism".
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