Page 1

For this month's O-Ko sermon, I'd like to talk to you about the daily serving, or care, of the

Gohonzon and the water offering and the offering of flowers, light, and fragrance.

1. Attitude in the Daily Serving of the Gohonzon Observances such as the manner in which gongyo
is performed, how the Gohonzon is enshrined, and our conduct in the presence of the Buddha are
called kegi, or "observances for substantiating the Law." For brevity's sake, we can also refer to kegi
as "observances" or "formalities"; but you should bear in mind that these words are not superficial:
they entail more than mere cursory gestures and formal procedures. Their significance is expressed by a
number of time-honored adages among Nichiren Shoshu believers, such as "observances evince the
Law taught by the Buddha" (kegi soku kehou), "formalities and the Buddhist Law are one" (kegi
soku buppou), and "observances are synonymous with the Entity of the Law" (kepi soku hottai).
This is because any Law or teaching must be accompanied by action; observances are the keystone of
"propagation through the manner of practice" (gyoutai fukyou) through which the Daishonin's
teachings are substantiated (substantially, or tangibly, manifested) by way of our routine
observances and conduct. As Fifty-ninth High Priest Nichiko Shonin elucidates of Ninth High Priest
Nichiu Shonin's Kegi Shou ("On the formalities of this school"): "Practice of observances evinces
one's faith." This means that a person's conduct in the presence of the Buddha is a manifestation of
that person's faith. He also says, in another writing on stories about Nichiu Shonin's lifetimes, that "In
this school, observances are paramount... 'Observances are paramount' because, in this school, 'the
formalities and the Buddhist Law are one'; so one must not acquiesce in the observances of
heretical sects. Should one do so, one would be guilty of complicity." This passage is saying that
inattentiveness for observances leads to a slovenly lifestyle, laxity of faith, and eventually disregard for
the teachings. From this we can see how important it is in our faith to learn the correct observances of
Nichiren Shoshu. In the Touryuu Gyouji Shou, a chapter of his Rokkan Shou (Six-Volume Writings),
Twenty-sixth High Pries Nichikan Shonin writes " These many sects all take their name from the Sage
Nichiren, the founder of our school. Their doctrines are contrivances of their own; therefore they do not honor the
traditions established by the Master" Page Two