Gon or 勤 means diligent; gyo or 行 is a translation of of the Indic caritra; meaning conduct, practice, or action. Gongyo [勤行] is an East Asian Buddhist term for a kind of religious service involving sutra recitation and/or mantra chanting. This often includes the use of a mandala or other religious icon, which serves as an object of devotion, imagery for meditative visualization, a focus for contemplation, all of the above, and more. The icon is often enshrined as part of a family altar and might be housed in a cabinet called a butsudan. Generally, during Gongyo, Buddhists sit in any of several traditional postures, with the hands in the prayer gesture.
The term Gongyo has been popularized in the West by the Soka Gakkai {Value Creating Society}; which is a Nichiren Buddhist Lay Organization, and one of Japan's "New Religions" that emerged during the 2oth Century. For this reason, the term is associated with the services taught by Soka Gakkai and their former parent sect, Nichiren Shoshu. Ironically, from what I can gather, the founder of the Nichiren School, Nichiren Shonin, never used the term Gongyo.
According to wiki, other East Asian terms for the same sort of services include otsutome [お勤め] and shojin [精進]. Tsutome is an alternate reading of gon [勤]. I do not know if the mainstream Nichiren School, or Nichiren Shu, uses any of these terms or not. It might vary according to the Lineage, or even Temple. Some western members of Nichiren Shu have used the term "Sacred Services."
At this point, I think western Nichiren Buddhist should just go with the term Gongyo. We should realize, however, that this a generic term. It does not necessarily mean reciting portions of the Lotus Sutra and reading silent prayers, followed by chanting the Mantra; Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, anymore than the term Gohonzon refers exclusively to the Lotus Sutra inspired Mandala designed by Nichiren Shonin. For those who dislike Asian Buddhist jargon, "Sacred Services" might work.
The term Gongyo has been popularized in the West by the Soka Gakkai {Value Creating Society}; which is a Nichiren Buddhist Lay Organization, and one of Japan's "New Religions" that emerged during the 2oth Century. For this reason, the term is associated with the services taught by Soka Gakkai and their former parent sect, Nichiren Shoshu. Ironically, from what I can gather, the founder of the Nichiren School, Nichiren Shonin, never used the term Gongyo.
According to wiki, other East Asian terms for the same sort of services include otsutome [お勤め] and shojin [精進]. Tsutome is an alternate reading of gon [勤]. I do not know if the mainstream Nichiren School, or Nichiren Shu, uses any of these terms or not. It might vary according to the Lineage, or even Temple. Some western members of Nichiren Shu have used the term "Sacred Services."
At this point, I think western Nichiren Buddhist should just go with the term Gongyo. We should realize, however, that this a generic term. It does not necessarily mean reciting portions of the Lotus Sutra and reading silent prayers, followed by chanting the Mantra; Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, anymore than the term Gohonzon refers exclusively to the Lotus Sutra inspired Mandala designed by Nichiren Shonin. For those who dislike Asian Buddhist jargon, "Sacred Services" might work.
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