Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō

The Tendai monks Saicho and Genshin are said to have originated the Daimoku while the Buddhist priest Nichiren is known today as its greatest proponent. The mantra is an homage to the Lotus Sutra which is widely credited as the "king of scriptures" and "final word on Buddhism". According to American author Jacqueline Stone, the Tendai founder Saicho popularized the mantra Namu Ichijo Myoho Renge Kyo "as a way to honor the Lotus Sutra as the One Vehicle teaching of the Buddha."[8]

Accordingly, the Tendai monk Genshin popularized the mantra Namu Amida, Namu Kanzeon, Namu Myoho Renge Kyo to honor the three jewels of Japanese Buddhism.[9] Nichiren, who himself was a Tendai monk, edited these chants down to Namu Myoho Renge Kyo and Nichiren Buddhists are responsible for its wide popularity and usage all over the world today.

The Japanese Buddhist priest Nichiren was a known advocate of this recitation, claiming it is the exclusive method to happiness and salvation suited for the Third Age of Buddhism. According to varying believers, Nichiren cited the mantra in his Ongi Kuden,[10] a transcription of his lectures about the Lotus Sutra, Namu (南無) is a transliteration into Japanese of the Sanskrit namas, and Myōhō Renge Kyō is the Sino-Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese title of the Lotus Sutra (hence, Daimoku, which is a Japanese word meaning 'title'), in the translation by Kumārajīva. Nichiren gives a detailed interpretation of each character (see Ongi kuden#Nam-myoho-renge-kyo) in this text.[11]

Namu is used in Buddhism as a prefix expressing taking refuge in a Buddha or similar object of veneration. Among varying Nichiren sects, the phonetic use of Nam versus Namu is a linguistic but not a dogmatic issue,[12] due to common contractions and u is devoiced in many varieties of Japanese words.[13]

By syllabary, Namu — Myōhō — Renge — Kyō consists of the following:

• Namu 南無 "devoted to", a transliteration of Sanskrit namas
• Myōhō 妙法 "exquisite law"[3]
  • Myō 妙, from Middle Chinese mièw, "strange, mystery, miracle, cleverness"
  • Hō 法, from Middle Chinese pjap, "law, principle, doctrine"
• Renge-kyō 蓮華經 "Lotus Sutra"
  • Renge 蓮華 ""padma (Lotus)""
    • Ren 蓮, from Middle Chinese len, "lotus"
    • Ge 華, from Middle Chinese xwæ, "flower"
  • Kyō 經, from Middle Chinese kjeng, "sutra"

The Lotus Sutra is held by Nichiren Buddhists, as well as practitioners of the Tiantai and corresponding Japanese Tendai schools, to be the culmination of Shakyamuni Buddha's fifty years of teaching.

However, followers of Nichiren Buddhism consider Myōhō Renge Kyō to be the name of the ultimate law permeating the universe, in unison with human life which can manifest realization, sometimes termed as “Buddha Wisdom” or “attaining Buddhahood”, through select Buddhist practices.

• 1947 – It was used in the 1940s in India to commence the Interfaith prayer meetings of Mahatma Gandhi, followed by verses of the Bhagavad Gita.[14][15][16][17][18]
• 1958 – The mantra also appears in the 1958 American romantic film The Barbarian and the Geisha, where it was recited by a Buddhist priest during a Cholera outbreak.
• 1958 – Japanese film Nichiren to Mōko Daishūrai (English: Nichiren and the Great Mongol Invasion) is a 1958 Japanese film directed by Kunio Watanabe.
• 1968 – The mantra was used in the final episode of The Monkees (1968) to break Peter out of a trance.[19]
• 1969 – The mantra is present in the film Satyricon (1969) by Federico Fellini during the grand nude jumping scene of the patricians.
• 1973 – In Hal Ashby's film The Last Detail, an American Navy prisoner, Larry Meadows (played by Randy Quaid), being escorted by shore patrol attends a Nichiren Shoshu of America meeting where he is introduced to the mantra; the Meadows character continues to chant during the latter part of the film.[19]
• 1976 – In the film Zoku Ningen Kakumei (Human Revolution) produced by the Soka Gakkai, a fictionalized religious drama featuring the struggles of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi who is showcased chanting the words during World War II.
• 1979 – Nichiren is a 1979 Japanese film directed by Noboru Nakamura. Produced by Masaichi Nagata and based on Matsutarō Kawaguchi's novel. The film is known for mentioning Jinshiro Kunishige as one of the martyrs persecuted, claimed to whom the Dai Gohonzon was inscribed by Nichiren in honor of his memory.
• 1980 – In Louis Malle's acclaimed film Atlantic City (1980), Hollis McLaren's Chrissie, the pregnant, naive hippie sister of main character Sally (Susan Sarandon) is discovered hiding, fearful and chanting the mantra after witnessing violent events.[19]
• 1987 – The mantra is used by the underdog fraternity in the film Revenge of the Nerds II in the fake Seminole temple against the Alpha Betas.[19]
• 1987 – In the film Innerspace, Tuck Pendleton (played by Dennis Quaid) chants this mantra repeatedly as he encourages Jack Putter to break free from his captors and charge the door of the van he is being held in.[19]
• 1993 – American born artist Tina Turner through her autobiographical film What's Love Got To Do With It, featured her conversion to Nichiren Buddhism in 1973.[20] In a film scene after an attempted suicide, Turner begins to chant this mantra and turns her life around. Turner continues to chant this mantra in public venues and numerous publications.[21] Turner recited these words again on 21 February 1997, through a televised interview with Larry King, by which Turner credits her continuing practice to the Soka Gakkai International.
• 2008 – In the Generation Kill (miniseries), Episode 2, Sargent Rudy Reyes (actor) recites the mantra while engaging an enemy RPG team.
• 2016-cyber squad(altbalaji series)
• 2017-Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back, directed by Tsui Hark, produced by Steven Chow. Chanting of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo in the background as monkey god was against the imposter Buddha.
• 2019 – Actor Orlando Bloom appeared in a video interview for Soka Gakkai USA in January 2019, citing his practice of chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo since the age of 16 in London.[22]
• 2019 telugu movie sita
• 2020 – Paatal Lok (TV Series)

The words appear in songs including:

• "Welcome Back Home" — The Byrds
• "Let Go and Let God" — Olivia Newton-John[23]
• "Nam Myoho Renge Kyo" — Yoko Ono[24]
• "Boots of Chinese Plastic"[25] — The Pretenders
• "Concentrate" — Xzibit
• "B R Right" — Trina (2002)
• "Beyond" — Tina Turner (2015)
• "Cleopatra" — Samira Efendi (2020)
• "They Say" — Conner Reeves (1997)
• "Creole Lady" by Jon Lucien (1975)
• "Nam Myo Ho" - Indian Ocean (2003)
• "Tribute to The Mentor" — Alan Smallwood (2008)
• “No More Parties in L.A.” - Kanye West (2016)

• Index of Buddhism-related articles
• Kotodama
• Secular Buddhism

• Anesaki, Masaharu (1916). Nichiren, the Buddhist prophet. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
• Kenkyusha (1991). Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary. Tokyo: Kenkyusha Limited. ISBN 4-7674-2015-6.
• Ryuei, Rev. (1999). "Lotus Sutra Commentaries". Nichiren's Coffeehouse. Archived from the original on October 31, 2013. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
• SGDB (2002). "The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism". Soka Gakkai International. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
• Watson, Burton (2005). The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings (trans.). Soka Gakkai. ISBN 4-412-01286-7.

• Causton, Richard: The Buddha in Daily Life, An Introduction of Nichiren Buddhism, Rider London 1995; ISBN 978-0712674560
• Hochswender, Woody: The Buddha in Your Mirror: Practical Buddhism and the Search for Self, Middleway Press 2001; ISBN 978-0967469782
• Montgomery, Daniel B.: Fire In The Lotus, The Dynamic Buddhism of Nichiren, Mandala 1991; ISBN 1-85274-091-4
• Payne, Richard, K. (ed.): Re-Visioning Kamakura Buddhism, University of Hawaii Press Honolulu 1998; ISBN 0-8248-2078-9
• Stone, Jacqueline, I.: "Chanting the August Title of the Lotus Sutra: Daimoku Practices in Classical and Medieval Japan". In: Payne, Richard, K. (ed.); Re-Visioning Kamakura Buddhism, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu 1998, pp. 116–166. ISBN 0-8248-2078-9