Editing Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō (section)

==Analysis of the phrase==
[[file:211204 Daidaimokuiwa Wake Okayama pref Japan02s3.jpg|thumb|Rock carved with the daimoku, in Wake, [[Okayama Prefecture|Okayama prefecture]], Japan]]
''Namu'' is used in Buddhism as a prefix expressing [[Refuge in Buddhism|taking refuge]] in a Buddha or similar object of veneration. Among varying Nichiren sects, the phonetic use of ''Nam'' versus ''Namu'' is a linguistic but not a dogmatic issue,{{sfnp|Ryuei|1999|loc=Nam or Namu? Does it really matter?}} due to common contractions and [[Japanese phonology#Devoicing|''u'' is devoiced]] in many varieties of Japanese words.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Phonetics of Japanese Language: With Reference to Japanese Script|last=P. M|first=Suzuki|publisher=Routledge|year=2011|isbn=978-0415594134|pages=49}}</ref> In this mantra, the Japanese drop the "u" sound when chanting at a fast pace, but write "Namu",  seeing as it is impossible to contract the word into 'Nam' in their native script.{{sfnp|Ryuei|1999|loc=Nam or Namu? Does it really matter?}}

''Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō'' (南無妙法蓮華經, Chinese: námó miàofǎ liánhuá jīng) consists of the following words:

* '''''Namu''''' {{lang|ja-Hani|{{linktext|南無}}}} "devoted to", an adaptation of [[Sanskrit]] {{transliteration|sa|námo}}, the form taken in this context by the word whose citation form is {{transliteration|sa|námas}}, meaning: 'obeisance, reverential salutation, adoration'.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/2020/web/webtc2/index.php | title=Monier-Williams Sanskrit Dictionary 1899 Advanced }}</ref>
* '''''Myōhō''''' {{lang|ja-Hani|{{linktext|妙法}}}} "exquisite law",{{sfnp|Kenkyusha|1991|p={{page needed|date=May 2022}} }} "Sublime [[Dharma]]" (Sanskrit: ''Saddharma'')
** ''Myō'' {{lang|ja-Hani|{{linktext|妙}}}}, from [[Middle Chinese]] ''mièw'', "strange, mystery, miracle, cleverness" (cf. [[Standard Chinese|Mandarin]] {{transliteration|zh|miào}}); which translates the Sanskrit Sad- (from ''sat''-, true, real)
** ''Hō'' {{lang|ja-Hani|{{linktext|法}}}}, from Middle Chinese ''pjap'', "Dharma, law, principle, doctrine" (cf. Mand. {{transliteration|zh|fǎ}})
* '''''Renge-kyō''''' {{lang|ja-Hani|{{linktext|蓮華|經}}}} "Lotus Flower Sutra (i.e. Lotus Sutra)"
** ''Renge'' {{lang|ja-Hani|{{linktext|蓮華}}}} "Dharma Flower", i.e. the White Lotus, Sanskrit: ''Pundarika''
*** ''Ren'' {{lang|ja-Hani|{{linktext|蓮}}}}, from Middle Chinese ''len'', "lotus" (cf. Mand. {{transliteration|zh|lián}})
*** ''Ge'' {{lang|ja-Hani|{{linktext|華}}}}, from Middle Chinese ''xwæ'', "flower" (cf. Mand. {{transliteration|zh|huā}})
** ''Kyō'' {{lang|ja-Hani|{{linktext|経}}}}, from Middle Chinese ''kjeng'' (cf. Mand. {{transliteration|zh|jīng}}), Sanskrit: "[[sutra]]"

=== Exegesis ===
According to Tiantai [[Zhiyi]] and [[Nichiren]], each of the words of the Lotus Sutra's title has a specific meaning:<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nichiren |title=Gosho: The Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra |url=https://nichiren.info/gosho/DaimokuLotusSutra.htm |access-date=2025-03-24 |website=nichiren.info}}</ref><ref name=":15">Rhodes, Robert F. (2016). [https://otani.repo.nii.ac.jp/record/10566/files/11_Robert%20F.%20Rhodes.pdf Tiantai Hermeneutics: Zhiyi's Interpretation of the Lotus Sutra Presented in the Miaofa lianhua jing xuanyi]. In ''The Buddha's Words and Their Interpretations,'' ed. Takami Inoue and Imre Hamar, 139–153. Kyoto: The Shin Buddhist Comprehensive Research Institute, Otani University.</ref><ref name=":19">Kantor, Hans-Rudolf (2020). [https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/260157/1/asia_2019_0008.pdf Tiantai Buddhist elaborations on the hidden and visible]. ''Asiatische Studien - Études Asiatiques'', 74(4):883-910. DOI: <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1515/asia-2019-0008</nowiki></ref> 

* '''Myōhō (Sublime Dharma):''' Zhiyi's ''Profound Meaning of Lotus Sutra (Fahua Xuan-yi)'' says that the term "sublime" (miao 妙) refers to [[Dharmakāya|ultimate reality itself]], i.e. [[Tathātā|Suchness]], which is the perfect interfusion of [[Zhiyi#Threefold Truth and Threefold Contemplation|the three truths]]. For Zhiyi, the "sublime"  teaching is all-encompassing, integrating all teachings within it, and indeed, all phenomena ([[Abhidharma|dharmas]]). Nichiren understands '''Myō''' to mean "opening", "revealing", "to open": He quotes the ''Lotus Sutra'' which says, "This sutra opens the door of [[Upaya|expedient teachings]] and reveals the true aspect of reality." Nichiren says this means the sutra is like the key to a great treasure storehouse ([[Buddhahood]] itself). He also says it means "perfection" since it is the perfect and supreme teaching of the Buddha.
* '''Renge (Lotus Flower):''' The white lotus flower ([[Nelumbo nucifera]]) symbolically represents the supreme [[Dharma]]. Zhiyi sees the term "lotus flower" as an [[Allegorical|allegory]] for the relationship between the relative [[Yana (Buddhism)|three vehicles]] and the ultimate [[Ekayāna|One Vehicle]]. Just like the flower blossom exists for the sake of the fruit, the relative teachings of the three vehicles exist only because of the One Vehicle. Similarly, the sutra's trace teaching of [[Upaya|skillful means]] exists because of its origin teaching (the Buddha's infinite lifespan). Thus, the term "lotus flower" symbolizes the entire teaching of the sutra.<ref>Hurvitz, L. “Chih-i (538–597): An Introduction to the Life and Ideas of a Chinese Buddhist Monk,” Mélanges chinois et bouddhiques 12 (1960–1962): 209.</ref>
* '''Kyō (Sutra):''' "[[Sutra]]" literally means "thread" (cf. [[Surgical suture|suture]]), and refers to all the teachings of the Buddha. Nichiren writes: "Within this single character '''Kyō''' are contained all the sutras in the entire universe. It is like the wish-granting jewel that contains within it all manner of treasures, or the vastness of space that encompasses all phenomena."