January 20, 2025
BuddhismQ&A
What Is the Gohonzon?
Many visitors come to Nichiren Shu temples, see the statues of Shakyamuni Buddha and Many Treasures Buddha, and then ask, “But where is the gohonzon?” They ask this thinking that the word gohonzon only refers to Nichiren’s calligraphic mandala. I would like to clear up this confusion.
Honzon 本尊 means “focus of devotion.” It is a term used by all schools of Japanese Buddhism in reference to the central image enshrined in a temple or home Buddhist altar. In Nichiren Buddhism, the focus of devotion is often called the gohonzon, because the honorific prefix go 御 is added to it
In Kanjin Honzon-sho, Nichiren Shonin described his honzon in terms of the transmission of the Odaimoku from the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha to his original disciples during the assembly in space in the Lotus Sutra. After this description, Nichiren Shonin wrote, “Many wooden statues and portraits were made of Shakyamuni Buddha as he preached Hinayana or provisional Mahayana sutras, but statues and portraits were never made of the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha revealed in Chapter 16 of the Lotus Sutra, ‘The Duration of the Life of the Tathagata.’ Now, in the beginning of the Latter Age of Degeneration, is it not time that such statues and portraits are made for the first time?”
Nichiren Shu depicts the honzon in five different ways based on that passage and other writings from our Founder. In this article, I will explain the first two of these, which emphasize the Odaimoku.
The first is the “Great Mandala of Invoking the Ten Worlds” (jikkai kanjo no daimandara) composed of Chinese and Sanskrit characters with the Odaimoku in the center. The other writing on the mandala includes the names of the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha and others who appear in the Lotus Sutra or who were regarded as integral to the practice of the Lotus Sutra by Nichiren Shonin.
The second is called the “One Sacred Title” (ippen shudai). It is an inscription of the Odaimoku alone. In Honzon Mondo-sho, Nichiren Shonin stated, “We should regard the Odaimoku of the Lotus Sutra as the honzon.” In the next issue, I will describe the other three depictions which focus on the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha.
We welcome readers’ questions about Buddhism and Nichiren Shonin. Please send us your questions by e-mail to editor-nichirenshunews@nichiren.or.jp or contact us through your local temple.