MYOHO RENGE KYO—a modern scientific perspective.
By Nelson Gozah
The Buddhist teaching of Myoho Renge Kyo as the essence of Shakyamuni Buddha’s Lotus Sutra was profoundly expounded by the 13th century Japanese monk Nichiren. As a reformer seeking to establish the Lotus Sutra as foremost in guiding humanity to enlightenment, Nichiren Daishonin elucidated the supreme laws of life embodied in its title – the Myoho or cycle of birth and death, the Renge or principle of cause and effect, and the ultimate reality of interconnected oneness expressed as Kyo.
Through his insightful and revolutionary teachings, Nichiren revealed how chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo allows one to gain a precise understanding and ability to apply these universal yet profound truths in daily life. He promoted the Lotus Sutra as teaching the highest law of existence itself, showing how by embracing its philosophy and practice, one awakens to their inherent Buddha nature and can help build a just world of peace.
Crucially, Nichiren stressed that the interconnected oneness of all life described as Kyo must be upheld in society through mutual respect among all people regardless of nationality, creed or status. Only by embracing our shared dignity and value as outlined in the Lotus Sutra could conflict and suffering be overcome.
Modern science’s growing validation of Buddhist principles like emptiness, impermanence and interdependence, this write up echoes Nichiren’s role for the Lotus Sutra in guiding humanity to truth and harmony. As Nichiren proclaimed so long ago, attentive study of Myoho Renge Kyo through chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo enables practitioners to comprehend and align with reality’s deepest nature at all scales. This profound unity of philosophy, science and faith was the message Nichiren devoted his life to sharing.
The cycle of birth and death(myoho), cause and effect and their simultaneity(renge) and the principle of non-duality and interdependence(kyo) are all interconnected concepts that provide a framework for understanding the workings of life and the nature of existence.
From the tiniest quantum scales to the vast cosmic expanses, modern science reveals reality as a seamless web of interconnectivity. Far from a collection of discrete and separate parts, existence displays a profound underlying non-duality and interdependence at its very foundation.
Come explore how the ancient Buddhist principles of dependent origination, emptiness and interbeing are beautifully mirrored throughout nature. From exotic quantum behaviors to complex planetary and biological systems, we’ll see how cooperation, co-arising and flux underlie even seemingly solid phenomena.
Whether contemplating astrophysical, ecological or biological dynamics, the same core truth shines through – all is unified. Permanence is illusory; change and flow are ultimate. So join us on a journey revealing reality’s deepest nature, where separation falls away and unity prevails throughout the endless cycles of celestial dance.
The cycle of birth(emergence) and death(Latency)—MYOHO
In Buddhism,it is well understood that life “essence” transcends the boundaries of space-time and possesses an eternal nature. It expounds that our individual lives and the universal life, have no discernible starting point nor definitive end. This perspective extends beyond human existence to encompass all forms of life, including celestial bodies and the vast expanse of the universe.
According to Buddhist teachings, every entity, whether sentient or not, undergoes a perpetual cycle of birth(formation), growth(continuance), aging(declination),and death(dissolution). Following this process, each entity experiences rebirth, continuing the same cycle. The specific circumstances of each re-emergence or rebirth are determined by the accumulation of causes and effects, known as karma, or in modern scientific terms, quantum information, associated with that particular individual or entity.
All of existence is governed by an eternal cycle that persist without cease – this rhythm of latency and emergence also known as the cycle of birth and death is evident at every scale of existence. Everything that arises in this world, whether living or nonliving, does so as the result of existing causes and conditions. And everything that manifests will inevitably pass away, sowing the seeds for future becoming through the principle of dependent origination.
Everything, all phenomena emerge from the field of pure potentiality into manifest state and back to pure potentiality and manifest state again ad infinitum. This illustrates how all phenomena arise out of emptiness into manifestation in an unending cyclical fashion.
What then is the field of emptiness where all phenomena arises and recedes?!
“Myo” which essentially means Emptiness, is the field of void full of infinite potentialities from which all phenomena emerge and recede ad infinitum.
Thus, “Myo”, “Ku” or emptiness is described as, a void imbued with infinite potentials that exist in reality, though unmanifest..
When life is in the state of Ku, Myo or Emptiness it transcends both space and time. Since Myo cannot be perceived with the human senses or any form of sentient perception, it might be thought to resemble nonbeing (Mu). But since, given the right conditions, it can become manifest in visible forms, it is different from nonbeing.
In short, “Myo”, death, or emptiness is a state that cannot be expressed in terms of existence(being) or non-existence(non-being). It is the state of neither existence nor non-existence yet possess the potential for both.
For in the realm of emptiness, time and space as we conceive them are meaningless; anywhere is the same as everywhere, and now, then, never, forever are all one.
At the quantum level, this principle is most clearly seen. Subatomic wave-particles flit in and out of existence in an endless dance, popping into being from the quantum vacuum and vanishing just as quickly. Nothing at such microscopic scales appears wholly fixed or permanent. All is flux and fluidity.
Moving up in scale, we see the cosmic cycles. Stars are born from swirling nebulae, fusing hydrogen into heavier elements through thermonuclear reactions deep within. They flare bright, illuminating the darkness for millions of years. But entropy inevitably takes its toll. Energies are spent and matter contracts under its own gravity. In a spectacular supernova explosion, or more leisurely drift into a black hole or white dwarf, the stellar cycle finds completion, thus the stars life span comes to an end.New stardust is scattered throughout the galaxy, awaiting the conditions to coalesce once more.
On Earth, the wheel of becoming spins through ecosystems, organisms, and cells. Seasons change as the planet revolves around the sun, birthing new plants each spring only for them to wither and die when autumn arrives. Animals are born, mature, and pass on, sustaining intricate webs of interdependence. Even at the cellular level, growth and division give rise to decay, as one generation of cells gives way to the next.
For sentient beings, too, the law of conditional arising permeating the cycle of birth and death holds true. Consciousness arises dependent on mental and physical forms, which live out their durations and dissolve at death. And so the process perpetuates endlessly – death breeding new life, life ushering in death, in an ongoing ebb and flow that has churned since time immemorial.
This, then, is the rhythm of latency and emergence, existence as flux within flux, arising as emptiness. All forms are fleeting; only the cycle itself persists. All is impermanent, subject to the ceaseless cycle of birth and death.
The Principle of Cause and Effect and their simultaneity—-RENGE
All phenomena arise due to multiple, interacting causes and conditions, rather than owing to single, discrete reasons. Nothing exists independently within the web of intercausality that pervades existence. This principle of dependent origination implies that phenomena emerge, persist, and cease in an interdependent fashion.
At the quantum scale, this interweaving of cause and effect is most evident. However, at this level, causality can be much more complex, and it is often difficult to determine the exact cause of an effect. In fact, in some cases, it is impossible to determine causality at all. This illustrates the complexity and interconnectedness of the universe and highlights the need for a deeper understanding of causality. . It probes much deeper, penetrating the innermost nooks and crannies of life. It deals with a realm transcending space and time. From that perspective, it is meaningless to talk of cause preceding effect because both exist simultaneously.
At the quantum scale, wave-particles exist in entangled states where measurement of one particle instantly impacts its entangled pair, even across vast distances. Their properties seem enmeshed in a fabric of co-arising, rather than resulting from linear sequences of independent events. Quantum mechanics thus reveals the universe as a simultaneous, non-local web of causal influence.
Moving to cosmological scales, interdependence woven in the principle of causation remains the governing rule. Galaxies coalesce under mutual gravitational pull, while stars within nurture life-giving elements through furnace-like nuclear reactions. Planet formation, in turn, arises from the swirling disk of stardust remaining after stellar ignition. Each new configuration seeds the conditions for subsequent configurations, all interwoven.
Earth’s biosphere constitutes another intricate webwork of intercausality. Species shape and are shaped by their environments through feedback dynamics. Predator and prey population fluctuations reciprocally impact one another. Within living cells, molecular feedback loops regulate homeostasis through cyclic, non-hierarchical interactions.
Even the relationship between observable phenomena and underlying reality conforms to this primordial condition of co-arising. At quantum scales, observable wave-particle duality arises due to the quantum vacuum’s potentia. Astrophysical phenomena emerge from gravity and electromagnetism’s invisible yet formative influence.
In sentient experience, too, all is interconnected – perceptions, mental states, and actions condition one another moment to moment. Lineages of cause and effect extend endlessly through past, present and future.
This, then, is the true nature of causality – an inseparable nexus of codependent factors weaving the tapestry of reality. All phenomena co-emerge within an seamless web of simultaneous, mutual origination. Such is the principle of conditioned arising, causation governing eternally through the mingled blur of phenomena and noumena.
The Non-duality of all phenomena(The interconnectedness of all things)—KYO
At its deepest level, reality is a seamless web of interconnectivity where all phenomena arise in mutual dependence upon countless conditions. This truth of non-dual interbeing is reflected throughout existence, from the microscopic to the cosmic.
In the quantum realm, it is seen clearly. Elementary particles lack inherent separateness — they exist in superposition and entanglement. Fundamentally, all manifestions emerge from the quantum vacuum/emptiness.
Moving outward, the unity only multiplies. Modern string theory suggests all elementary particles may simply be different vibrational modes of fundamental strings, further illustrating the interconnected nature of reality at its most micro level.
Stars are birthed from stellar nurseries, their lives and deaths influencing galactic and cosmic evolution. Planets cohere through gravity, while life then diversifies through symbiosis over eons.
Within living beings, non-duality permeates at the cellular level. Mitochondria were once bacteria, now unified within our cells. Complex feedback loops govern homeostasis. Entire ecologies function as superorganisms, with information and nutrients coursing through interlacing channels. Species adaptively reshape one another and ambient conditions in constant flux.
Even perceived divisions between self and other, subject and object, melt upon deeper examination. Our perceptions arise jointly from internal mental activity and interactive experience. Relationships, cultures, and societies all condition consciousness in an intricately woven net of codetermination.
In reality’s deepest nature, all dualistic boundaries disappear. All things are interwoven threads of the single Tapestry of Being, grounded in the suchness of Emptiness- the void imbued with pure potentiality of all possible forms. In unity all diversity is grounded; in interdependence all separateness is transcended.
In conclusion, modern science illuminates the natural world as a seamless web of interconnection governed by emptiness and conditional arising. From the quantum scale to the cosmic, phenomena arise interdependently through multiple causes, exist in flux, and pass away according to the necessary laws of causation..
This depicts a picture of reality fully congruent with Buddhist concepts of non-self, emptiness, dependent origination and the middle way. All is part of an endless cycle of birth, interaction and death within the whole.
Underneath multiplicity lies a profound unity – as modern theories like string theory and multiverses suggest. Diversity has its ground in a single groundlessness or emptiness.
So whether exploring astrophysics, microbiology or anything between, science consistently points to the same deep truths Buddhism has described for millennia. Reality is an unbroken tapestry constantly transforming yet ultimately non-dual in nature. All is part of one seamless process of conditioning and co-arising throughout time.
This deep concordance between modern empiricism and ancient insight suggests science and Buddhism offer complementary perspectives for understanding our world and ourselves at the most fundamental levels. Both reveal reality as profoundly relational, interdependent and ever-changing at its core.
Below is a link to a lecture on NAM MYOHO RENGE KYO by Richard Causton ;
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Nb31HH5pGARoTDucpffteD5m5uxBip8X/view?usp=drivesdk
