The Meaning of Prayer Beads
Igeta: Would you please explain the significance of the prayer beads? President Ikeda: It is customary to place the prayer beads around the middle fingers of both hands – the three tufts on the right hand and the two tufts on the left – twisting the loop so that it crosses over in the middle between our two hands. The prayer beads are said to be fashioned after the human body: The three tufts on the right are our head and both arms; the crossing over of the loop between our left and right hands indicates our navel; the two tufts on the left are our two legs. Each set of prayer beads comprises a total of 108 beads, representing the 108 earthly desires, the sources of suffering. The smaller beads in the loop stand for the four bodhisattvas, who are the leaders of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth in the Lotus Sutra. Kimura: That would be Bodhisattvas Superior Practices, Boundless Practices, Pure Practices and Firmly Established Practices. President Ikeda: Yes. Profound meaning is attached to each of these four bodhisattvas, but I won’t go into the details in this discussion. Suffice it to say that the true identity of Bodhisattva Superior Practices is Nichiren Daishonin. The four bodhisattvas represent the power to work eternally for the happiness of all humanity. The prayer beads therefore symbolize that through chanting and doing gongyo before the Gohonzon, we can transform all problems and suffering into fuel to propel us toward happiness. Moreover, our joined palms represent the fusion of reality and wisdom – the fusion of our lives with the Mystic Law – while the meeting of the five fingers of both hands represents the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds. The mutual possession of the Ten Worlds means that none of the Then Worlds – that is, Hell, Hunger, Animality, Anger, Humanity, Rapture, Learning, Realization, Bodhisattva and Buddhahood – are separate from one another. This is precisely why the power of the world of Buddhahood is manifested in the other nine worlds of our daily lives. We should remember, however, that such things as prayer beads, Buddhist altars, incense, and the like, form part of the “ritual” aspect of faith. Such formalities are subject to change depending on the era or place, and in most cases that is perfectly acceptable. The substance of our actual faith is what matters most. Also the dual nature of our practice – of practicing for ourselves and
others – will never change. Practice for ourselves constitutes chanting
daimoku and doing gongyo with faith in the Gohonozon, while practice for
others constitutes teaching others about the Mystic Law.
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Značenje brojanica (đuzua)
Igeta: Da li biste molim vas objasnili kakvo je značenje brojanica? Predsednik Ikeda: Uobičajeno je da se molitvene perle stave oko srednjih prstiju obeju ruku – sa tri bućke na desnoj i dve na levoj ruci – uvrnuvši nisku tako da se ukršta na sredini između ruku. Kaže se da su brojanice podešene prema ljudskom telu: tri bućke s desna su glava i ruke. Mesto ukrštanja niske između desne i leve ruke ukazuje na pupak. Dve bućke s leva su noge. Svaki komplet brojanica obuhvata ukupno 108 perli koje predstavljaju 108 zemaljskih želja, izvore patnje. Manje perle u niski označavaju četiri bodisatve koji su vođe Bodisatvi Zemlje u Lotos sutri. Kimura: To bi bili Bodisatva Nadmoćnih Praksi, Bezgraničnih Praksi, Čistih Praksi i Čvrsto Ustanovljenih Praksi. Predsednik Ikeda: Da. Svakome od ovih bodisatvi je pridato duboko značenje, ali ne želim da ulazim u detalje u ovoj diskusiji. Suvišno je reći da je Bodisatva Nadmoćnih Praksi pravi identitet Ničirena Dajšonina. Četiri bodisatve predstavljaju moć da se večno radi za sreću celog čovečanstva. Brojanice prema tome simbolizuju to da kroz recitovanje i gongjo ispred Gohozona možemo pretvoriti sve probleme i patnju u gorivo koje će nas terati prema sreći. Štaviše, sastavljeni dlanovi predstavljaju stapanje stvarnosti i mudrosti - stapanje našeg života sa Mističnim Zakonom - dok spojeni prsti obeju ruku predstavljaju međusobnu isprepletenost Deset Svetova. Međusobna isprepletenost Deset Svetova znači da nijedan od Deset Svetova - to jest, Pakla, Gladi, Animalnosti, Ljutnje, Ljudi, Zanosa, Učenja, Ostvarenja [Shvatanja], bodisatvi i budastva - nije odvojen jedan od drugog. Baš zbog toga moć sveta budastva je manifestovana u drugih devet svetova našeg svakodnevnog života. Treba da zapamtimo, međutim, da su takve stvari kao brojanice, budistički oltari, insens i slično, formalni delovi "ritualnog" aspekta vere. Takve formalnosti su stvari koje se menjaju u zavisnosti od doba ili mesta i u većini slučajeva su savršeno prihvatljive. Suština naše stvarne vere je ono najvažnije. Takođe dvojaka priroda naše prakse - praktikovanje za sebe i za druge
- nikada se neće promeniti. Praktikovanje za sebe sačinjavaju recitovanje
dajmokua i izvođenje gongja sa verom u Gohonzon, dok praktikovanje za druge
sačinjava podučavanje drugih Mističnom Zakonu.
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