by Rev Shinga Takikawa
"Base your heart on the Ninth consciousness and your practice on the six consciousnesses."
When confronted with problems, common mortals will very often try to use their own ideas to solve them. Even though the problems become very serious, they still do not face the Gohonzon and chant Daimoku for solutions. When this happens to us, we must encourage our weak minds, face the Gohonzon and chant sincere Daimoku. We have to remind ourselves that our wisdom or experience are not enough to overcome all our difficulties.
The above passage advises us to fuse our lives with the Buddha's life in the Gohonzon by sincerely using our body and mind in practicing Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism.
Nichiren Daishonin teaches that we have the nine consciousnesses (nine kinds of discernment) in our lives. Our minds will discern the information when our five sense organs are in contact with the environment. A brief explanation of the Nine Consciousnesses are as follows :
1. Sight-consciousness: When our eyes see things, our mind will form ideas.
2. Hearing-consciousness: When our ears hear / listen to sounds, our minds will form judgments.
3. Smell-consciousness: We can recognize the scent when we smell.
4. Taste-consciousness: We know whether it is sour or sweet when our tongues taste food.
5. Touch-consciousness: When our hands touch things, we know whether they are soft or hard.
6. Mind-consciousness: The five senses are the windows of our life. What we perceive with our eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body activates the mind-consciousness, and actions will then be taken accordingly. For example, when you see an apple, you know it is red and round. When your hand holds it, you know it is hard. When you eat it, you know it is sweet, and your mind tells you that you are enjoying the apple.
The first six consciousnesses are very common because everybody has them. So, everybody has the ability to perceive or discern things through these six consciousnesses. In this sense, we are not extraordinary.
As Nichiren Daishonin states in the Gosho, "Three Learned Doctors Pray for Rain":
"How far can one's own wisdom take one? One has only wisdom to distinguish hot from cold."
One's own wisdom is very limited as it is not the Buddha's wisdom. Your own wisdom is not sufficient for you to overcome serious problems. Some people say they do not need the Gohonzon, as they think they are highly educated and have a lot of experience in life. They think they can overcome any difficulty with their own abilities. They believe that the Gohonzon is the same as any other object of worship. Their inability to solve their problems is explained in True Buddhism as the working of the seventh consciousness.
7. Mano-consciousness: Unlike the six consciousnesses, the seventh consciousness does not deal with external phenomena. It has the nature of discerning the inner spirit of self, thoughts and emotions. It works unconsciously and has the nature of strong self-attachment. The underlying mind in the seventh consciousness is self-consciousness. In short, it is egoism. The seventh consciousness is the most influential element to the sixth consciousness.
Furthermore, it is also explained in True Buddhism that within the Mano-consciousness, there are four kinds of illusion.
a) Illusion that one knows oneself. Everybody claims he/she is a good person! Is this true of you?
b) Illusion that leads to attachment to self. Difficulty in caring for the happiness of others. Are you like that?
c) Illusion that leads to conceit. Being arrogant, we always want to win. Do you agree that this is true of you?
d) Illusion that leads one to be self-centered. Our own ideas are always right. Are you like that?
Due to the function of these four kinds of illusion, conflicts arise.
As Nichiren Daishonin states in the "Ongi Kuden":
"Love and hatred are minds which originate from the seventh consciousness."
The characteristic of the seventh consciousness is the inner spirit of thoughts and emotions. It works unconsciously, and its nature is one of a strong attachment to self (Selfish) and ego. The first to the sixth consciousness are all under the influence of the seventh consciousness.
Below the seventh consciousness is the eighth consciousness called Alaya- consciousness.
8. Alaya-consciousness: Alaya is a Sanskrit word, which means "store house". Whatever we do with our body, mouth and thought through the above seven consciousness is referred to as "karma' and they are all stored in the Alaya-consciousness.
When one dies, the consciousnesses, from the first to the seventh, will cease to function, but not the eighth consciousness. It will still function in the three existences of past, present and future. It is the consciousness, which continues to exist, retaining all karma. Common mortals may not believe in the existence of the eighth consciousness. It exists below the seventh consciousness. All good and bad are engraved in the eighth consciousness. The effect will be manifested in the future existence.
Nichiren Daishinin explains it in the Gosho, "Letter from Sado":
"Both the crow's blackness and the heron's whiteness are actually the deep stains of their past karma."
Our present life is the result of our eighth consciousness.
The consciousness that resides deep in the depths of our life is called the Amala-consciousness.
9. Amala-consciousness: This is the Buddha nature. This represents the Buddha's perfect wisdom and enlightenment. The ninth consciousness is the King of our hearts, the palace of unchanging reality; it has produced the Buddha's wisdom that shines over the three existences. The Gohonzon is the entity of this limitless wisdom and enlightenment.
In the Gosho, "The Real Aspect of the Gohonzon," Nichiren Daishonin states:
"Never seek this Gohonzon outside yourself. The Gohonzon exists only within the mortal flesh of us ordinary people who embrace the Lotus Sutra and chant Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo. The body is the palace of the ninth consciousness, the unchanging reality which reigns over all life's functions."
As it is very difficult to believe that we have the life of the Buddha, maybe we can consider the example below.
Since the day we were in our mothers' womb, our hearts have begun beating without skipping a beat. The other organs may rest, but not the heart. Our hearts stop beating the moment we die. Furthermore, our hearts contain a lot of memories, generate a lot of ideas, and also contain the Buddha wisdom. Yet, where are all these memories, ideas and Buddha wisdom stored? This is truly mystical. The same applies to the ninth consciousness and the eternity of our Buddha's Life.
We do not know how to identify and where to locate the ninth consciousness, but it has been with us since the remotest past. It is in the three existences within our lives of past, present and future. It produces the inscrutable wisdom and mercy; its function can expand and reach the whole universe, enabling us to overcome any difficulties in life and obtain peacefulness without being affected by any environment.
In view of the above concept, we can feel that our lives have existed since Kuon-ganjo. We have been with the True Buddha since Kuon-ganjo, and we will be with him in future existences. The True Buddha and we are of the same entity. This is beyond our mental understanding. In the eyes of the Gohonzon, the True Buddha is always with you. You cannot reject this idea even if it is very difficult to believe, because our mental understanding is only up to the sixth consciousness.
True Buddhism teaches that we have the seventh, eighth and ninth consciousnesses. If you agree with the above explanations that you have the seventh consciousness and eighth consciousness, then you may be able to believe that you have the ninth consciousness too. And if you can agree you have the ninth consciousness, you will also be able to believe that you will be with the True Buddha forever. By chanting Daimoku to the Gohonzon, the practice of true Ichinen Sanzen enables you to realize the unification of the True Buddha and common mortals.
Only the Lotus Sutra expounds the unification of the True Buddha and common mortals, and reveals that the True Buddha is from the time since Kuon-ganjo. Thus, the eternity of the Buddha's life is revealed.
Shakyamuni Buddha preached many provisional sutras in his forty-two years, but only the Lotus Sutra, which he preached in the last eight years of his life, revealed that human beings are in fact the actual entity of the Mystic Law. The practitioners of the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings were unable to manifest the ninth consciousness. Only the Lotus Sutra revealed that all phenomena are the manifestation of the Mystic Law.
Though it was explained in the Lotus Sutra by Shakyamuni Buddha that all human beings possess the Buddha nature (ninth consciousness) and can become Buddhas, it remained only theoretical. Human beings' ability to attain enlightenment has become a reality only since the True Object of Worship was revealed. The Daishonin teaches us the way to manifest our Buddha nature in the Gosho "Hell and Buddhahood" as follows:
"Base your heart on the Ninth consciousness and your practice on the six consciousnesses."
The above passage means we have to use our hearts to believe in the Gohonzon, kneel down in front of the Gohonzon to do Gongyo and Daimoku, and perform shakubuku (use our mind, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and body - six consciousnesses). To practice correctly, I always stress that our posture in doing Gongyo and Daimoku is very important. When chanting, we have to put our palms together, placing them close to our chest and we must look at the character MYO. Our backs must be straight, and we have to open our mouths and chant sincerely. If you close your eyes, chant softly, your voice sounding like the buzz of a mosquito, or if your posture is incorrect, that means you do not believe in the Gohonzon.
As this is the only way to activate your ultimate wisdom and obtain limitless mercy from the universe, you cannot say that you are busy and do not want to practice. You may want to use your own effort and wisdom, but these are just up to the six consciousness, and they are influenced by the seventh, and controlled by the eighth consciousness. There is no way that you can have a peaceful life by solving your problems on your own.
Although our entity is the same as the Mystic Law, without the Gohonzon, our lives will not be able to fuse with the Gohonzon and reveal the Buddha nature. Inscribing the Gohonzon as the object of worship for us to practice and manifest our Buddha nature is the greatest mercy shown by Nichiren Daishonin.
