What is Ki 気 ?

First of all, this is not the same as the 祈 ki, as in kito. Also, note that 気 [ki] is sometimes romanized as qi or chi, which is from the Chinese readings of 気. The word is seen in Reiki 霊気, Akido, and Qigong or Chi kung. The original sanskrit term is prana; the Greek is pneuma. The kanji means spirit, mind, air, atmosphere, or mood. According to wiki, "Prana (प्राण, ) is a Sanskrit word meaning 'breath' and refers to a vital, life-sustaining force of living beings and vital energy in natural processes of the universe ..."

At any rate, I first heard the word ki [気] some 40 years ago in connection with karate exercises used to "ki up." I noticed even then that the "ki up" exercises aroused a vague sense of a sort of vital energy, especially in my hands. The next time I experienced Ki 気 was in 1972, when I started chanting Nam' Myoho Renge Kyo.This time it was not vague at all. After 20 minutes of chanting, with my palms pressed together in the gassho prayer gesture, my hands would get very hot. Then a magnetic like energy would build up and sort of push my palms apart. It was like what happens when like poles of a two magnets are pushed together, I had to press my palms together with more effort to maintain the gassho mudra.

This was intensified after I acquired a wooden juzu / rosary; I broke quite as few. Once I stopped pushing my palms, and relaxed, my hands would slowly pull apart. Next, my hands and arms would spontaneously go through a series of mudras, and then rest in my lap, in what I later learned is the dhyani-mudra. I also noticed that this odd magnetic energy appeared to transfer to my juzu, especially when I used a particular wooden one [which I finally lost about 1991]. After I finished chanting, I would set that juzu down on the alter table, and it would move, in kind of a ripple or wave motion. I even tried applying the energy to telekinesis, with no success. I could not bend a spoon.

Needless to say, I was rather reticent about this experience. I did make a couple quiet inquiries with some experienced members and leaders. My queries resulted in quizzical looks, amused eye rolling, some condescending sneers, dismissive attitudes, and so on. One of the Japanese women told me I must have been a snake worshiper in my previous life. So, I decided to keep it to myself. I guess I sort of pushed the experience into the back of my mind and dove into Soka Gakkai activities.

More recently, I have noticed that chanting other mantras, such as the Chenrezig Mantra, Manjushiri Mantra, and so on; seem to generate the same magnetic like energy, though on different frequencies or modulations than Daimoku. I have also found that it is more difficult to "ki up" as I grow older. To the extent that I am able to generate this energy, it has been useful in healing from a fairly serious long term neurological disease. I do not know what prana / ki / qi / chi actually is, but I know there is something here that is worth exploring. I also know that it can potentially be summoned or aroused by focused chanting meditation.

Kito 祈祷 & Kanjin 観心 ; Ritual Magick

Recently some of the Nichiren Shoshu Hokkeko members were talking about a distinction between Prayer Daimoku 題目and Shodai 唱題 or Kanjin 観心 Daimoku 題目. Evidently, Nichiren Shoshu Priests had been stressing this difference to parishioners. This sort of resonated with me. I am assuming by prayer, they mean kito 祈祷 or just ki / inoru 祈. We see this in at least a couple of places. One of these is the Kito sho 祈祷書?, an authenticated A-U Gosho composed by Nichiren at Ichinosawato in 1272. The other is the Kito Blessing done by specially trained Ministers of Nichiren Shu; who attend the 100 day aragyo training at Nakayama Hokkeji. From what I am able to discern, kito / inoru has pretty much the same meaning as prayer in English; to beseech, plea, supplicate, beg, and so on.

The purpose of kito prayer is evidently to influence the environment in some inscrutable manner so as to gain a material blessing, protection from harm, or a purification. This often infers a supernatural intervention by some sort of being, such as a deva or kami that can be invoked or summoned to grant favors. Or, in some cases, there is a disturbed, restless, capricious or malevolent being, such as a preta, gaki, shade, troll, demon or other spirit, that must be warded off or even placated.

More sophisticated understandings are based on theories of subtle positive and negative energies that those with shamanic training or the right mantra / dharani / magic spell can control or influence. More profound theories are related to archetypal visual imagery, ritual symbolic magick, and psychodrama. Also, 'transfer of merit' is a traditional Buddhist rationale to explain praying to higher beings or praying for others. Connected with prayers are various forms of worship. There are several different Japanese words that can mean worship. Some examples I found include: ogamu 拝: supplicate, plea, adore, pray to; matsuri 祭 celebrate, festival, fete; and sai 斎: purification, worship, avoid, bar, exorcise.

These kinds of blessings & worship might be described as ritual magick, which is found in most schools of Buddhism, indeed in most religions. The roots are probably found in the ancient animistic religions of the various host countries. There are many forms. Prayers, incantations, and amulets for safe childhood delivery, called koyasu 子安 in Japan, have been popular since pre-Buddhist times. A more recent manifestation is the automobile blessing. In Buddhism, this sort of ritual is usually a source of controversy. Some think Buddhists should stick to teaching Dharma. However, the laity frequently demands ritual magick, and is willing to pay for it. Here is an example from Theravada:

"Blessing cars or motorcycles is one
popular Buddhist ceremony in Thailand.
Thai people expect it brings luck and
avoid having any accident." -- link

Also, as someone pointed out to me, Nichiren Shu Temples sometimes promote ritual blessings and even advertise the cost. We can think whatever we want about the efficacy and appropriateness of these sorts of Buddhist rituals. There is no doubt in my mind that it has been part of Nichiren Buddhism since Nichiren himself. Examples in the Gosho include Nichiren prolonging his mother's life, a star alighting in a plum tree, and Nichiren defeating Ninsho Ryokan in a 'praying for rain duel.' There are many more in the legends. There is even an example in the Pali Canon. Some tree pretas [gaki 餓鬼 ; restless spirits] had been disturbing the meditation of some monks who were on a forest retreat. The Buddha taught the monks how to generate soothing mettawaves, by reciting the Metta Sutta. This placated the preta shades, who returned to their trees, and the monks were able to meditate in peace.

Soooo -- does Kito or Prayer Daimoku really work? Is it it more effective if a trained minister does it for us? Are the special Kito blessings done by specially trained Ministers even more effective? That is another entry. Moreover, there is much more to Nichiren Buddhism than material blessings. There is also what Nichiren Shoshu calls Shodai 唱題, or chanting meditation; with the purpose of doing Kanjin 観心, a contemplation of one's mind; or achieving Kyochi Myogo 境智冥合, a sort of fusion with the Mandala Gohonzon. That is also another blog.

Both Kito 祈祷 and kanjin 観心 are part of Nichiren Buddhism. Kito 祈祷 Prayer is something we can do either for ourselves or others; and others can do for us. There may even be some advantage to having a trained or advanced practitioner do this for us. Some might see this as superstition at worst, or ritual symbolic magiick / archetypal visual imagery / psychodrama at best. Or maybe it is skillful means to encourage cultivation of faith, and perhaps it actually works? At any rate, kanjin seems to be something that we have to do for ourselves. I do not think someone else can meditate and cultivate insight for us.

Kito 祈祷 & Kanjin 観心 Q: Is chanting a form of meditation or is it positive thinking?

My Answer:

A: It is both. There are two main kinds of chanting in Nichiren Buddhism. These are kito [祈祷] prayer and kanjin [観心] chanting meditation. Both of these are found in the writings of Nichiren Daishonin. Moreover, prayer and meditation are aspects of most forms of Buddhism. Kito Prayer is something we can do either for ourselves or for others; and others can do for us. It can take many forms. In Soka Gakkai, members often get together to pray for someone who is sick, or for the success of an activity. In some schools of Nichiren Buddhism, specially trained minsters conduct something called kito blessings. The more general Kito Prayer Daimoku done by members should not be confused with that specific kind of highly focused Kito Blessing Prayer.

Prayer chanting is something that helps us cultivate the mind of faith, known as shinjin in Japan. In the beginning, our faith might be limited to some expectation that our prayers will be answered. Once we receive answers, our conviction grows, and we develop the mind of faith. This might be similar to positive thinking. Nichiren Buddhism teaches esho funi, or oneness of life and environment. We can influence the environment, or let the environment limit us. Once we develop the mind of faith, our cheerful, confident outlook is reflected in our surroundings.

However, that is still only the relative beginning. There is also kanjin chanting meditation. This is something we can only do for ourselves. In Buddhism, there is no single word for meditation. The Buddha taught Right Effort, Right Concentration, and Right Mindfulness. There are also many methods, such as silent breath meditation, mandala contemplation, mantra chanting, and more. There are also sitting, walking, reclining meditations, and so on. The Theravadin sage Buddhaghosa taught 40 Objects of Samatha Concentration. There are several stages and sub-stages of meditation such as calming the mind [shamatha], concentration [samadhi], absorption [dhyana], attainment [samapatti]. cessation [nirodha], four main frameworks of mindfulness [smrti]; {body, senses, mind, and mental qualities}, and finally; insight {vipashyana] and the arising of prjana {discerning wisdom}, .

Mantra Chanting or Shodai [唱題] has an advantage, because it does not require a lot of training. Moreover, Kanjin chanting meditation is equal to the most advanced stage of Insight. It also contains the merits of the others, so we do have to go through all of those steps or stages. Kanjin Meditation can be done by simply chanting and focusing the mind, senses, and body on the sound and rhythm of the Daimoku [Namu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo / 南無 妙法蓮華経]. We can also use the Scroll Gohonzon as a visual object of concentration. These practices, over time, help us cultivate discerning wisdom and all embracing compassion; as well as manifest our inherent Buddha Nature; which is pure, blissful, boundless, and selfless.