Photo by Avrielle Suleiman on Unsplash

After my trip to a monastery, I came back having learned a mantra and a little sense of clarity in my mind. But owing to my sceptic mind, I would only believe it if it would work. In my 4 hour stay at the monastery, I couldn’t take the insights of the way they live, but I could sure learn this mantra “Nam Myoho Renge kyo”, that the monks were busy chanting. My naive mind instantly took it up and added to the already existing lists of Vedic mantras, all just existing there in my memory, hardly interpretable.

Unlike those investment fund advertisements, where the disclaimer clearly states “Conditions applied”, this mantra didn’t come with one. It was later in my life that I realised, that It’s a mantra, with a big condition applied.

In this fast and pacing world, we are so busy fixing the leaking holes in our resume and social life. A hectic lifestyle and professional duties often come at a cost of nourishment of body, mind and soul. For the longevity, and for general happiness, the harmony among these three elements is crucial. Buddhism could be seen as the gateway to spirituality and a calm mind. Gautama Buddha never intended to project himself as a god, his teachings always advocated awakening the gods inside one’s own self. Nam Myoho Renge kyo is the fundamental law that Buddha promoted.

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Nam Myoho Renge Kyo translating to its literal meaning as “I devote my life to the mystique law of cause and effect”. If salvation is the destination then, this mystique law is the vehicle. The rest depends on the driver that is us. This law inflicts a belief in oneself so strong that you know that you’d drive through circumstances, even if the sky comes falling down on you.

I feel that chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo isn’t technically a prayer. The Ideology doesn’t promote that a deity would answer it, rather it is something which attempts to awaken the deity inside you, it attempts to awaken that energy of creation, which is believed to be not anywhere else but within you, in your very own mind, in your very own body, coming out through your very own actions. Every single chant is a reminder of manifesting a valuable cause that would create a positive effect. It reminds one to strengthen the holes in one’s leaking courage. Which in turn makes one better equipped to face the challenges so that when things go south, one doesn’t have to turn up to anyone but oneself.

But it may be the faith that matters. faith, in one’s own self and one’s own karma. And thus I say, it’s Nam Myoho Renge Kyoho with conditions applied. and that condition is devotion towards the law of cause and effect, where you, with your own bare hands create the cause and reap the effect.

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