I have written about the Lotus Sutra (also known as the Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra) before. It is one of the most influential and revered sutras in Mahayana Buddhism. It is considered a central scripture in various Mahayana traditions, including Tiantai, Nichiren, and Pure Land Buddhism.
The Lotus Sutra contains a variety of teachings attributed to Gautama Buddha, presented in the form of dialogues and parables.
One of the key mantras associated with the Lotus Sutra is the phrase "Nam-myoho-renge-kyo." I learned it as a naive college freshman when I attended an "Introduction to Buddhism" meeting at Rutgers University's Douglass College. Admittedly, I attended more because I had been invited by an attractive woman who I wanted to get to know better.
We learned to chant the mantra "Nam-myoho-renge-kyo" as a form of meditation and devotion. One guy there said chanting it could bring to anything you wanted. That sounded incredibly far-fetched. It is believed to invoke the power and blessings of the Lotus Sutra and is a way of tapping into the inherent Buddhahood within oneself and manifesting one's highest potential for wisdom, compassion, and enlightenment.
That phase of my Buddhist study lasted about a semester. Chanting did not get me that woman or anything else that I wanted. I would study Buddhism more seriously and with better teachers several times over the course of my life, but I can't say that I ever became a Buddhist. (Desire gets in the way.)
You can chant"Nam-myoho-renge-kyo" silently or aloud, with the focus on the rhythm and vibration of the mantra. Since the repetition of the mantra is believed to quiet the mind, I have been using it as a way to cultivate some inner peace before I go to sleep. Yes, I use it as a sleep aid.
Though I know the meaning of the words which translates to "I devote myself to the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law," I find it works better to forget the translation. Thinking about it in English leads my mind to wander to meanings. I use the words with my breathing. I start with a breath in on Nam and a breath out on myoho, in on renge and out on kyo. After several repetitions, I increase the intake to Nam-myoho and breathe out to renge-kyo. All of this is silent. Eventually, I am taking deep breaths to the full Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and long exhales to it.
Sleep has often eluded me in my life and I have tried many thing from meditation, to exercises, reading and just about every herbal remedy and prescription sleep aid on the market. All of them work to a degree but none work long-term or without side effects. Even reading has side effects, as it causes my brain to connect to all kinds of related things.
I know that I am not using the chant in the "proper" Buddhist way. Or am I?
The mantra is believed to embody the universe's all-pervading nature, and since the closest I come to prayer these days is addressing the universe, the mantra seems like a good path.
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