Ichinen Sanzen Explained

29 May 2011 1 Comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , ,

Ichinen Sanzen

Many thanks to Ken Hawkins for providing the following explanation of the Chinese symbols of Ichinen Sanzen.

Ichinen Sanzen is the wish-granting gem. There are as many sides to this gem as there are living beings. Like a gem, each side reflects its own reality. Our life is a wish-granting gem.

When we peer into our lives we can barely see our own reflection. But when we polish our lives through chanting and making efforts to improve ourselves, we can see ourselves reflected clearly.

When our gem is polished in this way we can see beyond our own reflection and see inside the gem that is the ultimate reality of all life.

Ichinen Sanzen in Chinese is composed of four main Chinese characters.

Ichi

Ichi

The first character (Ichi) is a horizontal line. It is the character one. It is both the beginning of the Chinese alphabet and  numbering system. In Buddhism, Ichi is the source of all beings.  The “Fundamental Essence” in the Japanese title of  Heritage of the Ultimate Law

Nen

Nen

Nen  is composed of three elemental characters. On top are three lines  forming a triangle. Under the triangle is a person bending to  completely enclose an object, and under the bending person is a  heart.

 – The triangle is a convergence of the elements of one’s life.

 – It combines with the bending person to form a compound meaning the  present moment. (All of one’s life is enfolded in the present  moment.)

 – The character, Kokoro or shin. The heart, in this case, is the core of intention. The derived meaning is to make present the heart’s intent, reviving or making real a person’s intent.

In some sects, “Nen” means mindfulness – that is being aware of the Buddha in the present moment.

San

San

San is the number three, representing heaven (the cosmos), earth, and humanity (also known as the three realms).

Zen

Zen

Zen is ten times 100. Connected to this concept is the harvest of crops or a thousand grains. The character for 1000 is also used to indicate an uncountable number.

Putting it all together:

Ichi

a single (Ichi) core intention in the present moment

Nen

makes real, enfolds, and harvests (Nen)

San

three (San)

Zen

thousand (Zen) – or uncountable – realms and possibilities.

A determination or decision (Ichi) at the core of your being makes real (Nen) that self-pledge or vow in all the realms (Sanzen) of your life.

Three Thousand Realms In One Instant

27 May 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

Ichinen SanzenI have spoken about Ichinen Sanzen before, about how each of the Ten Worlds contain all of the other Worlds, but this is a list of each of The Ten Worlds, The Ten Factors and the Three Realms.

Ichinen Sanzen means Three Thousand Realms in One Instant. The maths is simple, Ten Worlds each containing all the others makes one hundred Worlds. Multiply them by the Ten Factors gives us one thousand ‘states’ of existence, giving us three thousand when we take the Three Realms into account.

The Ten Worlds  
Buddhahood Enlightenment
Bodhisattva Helping others
Realisation Absorption and understanding
Learning Self reflection and study
Heaven Rapture
Humanity Tranquillity
Anger Self righteousness
Animality Instinct
Hunger Insatiability
Hell Extreme suffering
   
The Ten Factors  
Appearance Physical aspect
Nature Mental aspect
Entity Substance, life itself
Power Inherent energy
Influence Influence or power
Inherent Cause Habit or karma
Relation External cause
Latent Effect Potential effect
Manifest Effect Visible outcome
Consistency Connected nature of all
   
The Three Realms  
The Self Form, perception and consciousness
Living Beings Society, community, people
The Land The natural environment

I hope this helps you understand the concept of Ichinen Sanzen and the true nature of Life at any given instant.

Heaven and Hell

12 Nov 2010 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

The two Worlds of Heaven and Hell are two sides of the same coin.

Yesterday I was in Heaven, safe in the arms of the woman I love, today we are 100 miles apart and Hell is very much in evidence.The Lotus Sutra

It seems to me that the higher the highs, the lower the lows, like someone on a bungee.

Now I am getting a little poetic, because since practicing Nichiren Buddhism, life is a lot more even, emotionally, but the effects are still there, running just below the surface.

Having more, if not yet full control over my emotions is amazing. I can see things more clearly and those black moments are very few and far between.

Ichinen Sanzen, 3000 Worlds in one moment, means we can go from any emotion, to any other in an instant. Chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo and study have allowed me to control those mood swings and if I could ‘give’ any gift to others, it would be that control.

Take time to left practice into your life, your routine, your heart and you will never look back believe me.

Ichinen – Having What It Takes

05 Nov 2010 1 Comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: ,

Ichinen is a Japanese word meaning determination (amongst other things).

ichinen

[一念] (Jpn; Chin i-nien )

A single moment of life, one instant of thought, or the mind or life at a single moment. Also, life-moment, thought-moment, or simply a single moment or instant. Ichinen has various meanings in Buddhism: (1) A moment, or an extremely short period comparable to the Sanskrit term kshana. The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom defines one kshana or moment as a sixtieth of the time it takes to snap one’s fingers. (2) The functioning of the mind for one moment. The “Distinctions in Benefits” (seventeenth) chapter of the Lotus Sutra speaks of a single moment of belief and understanding. (3) To focus one’s mind on meditating on a Buddha; Shan-tao (613-681), a patriarch of the Chinese Pure Land school, defined ichinen (one instant of thought) as chanting Amida Buddha’s name once. (4) T’ient’ai (538-597) philosophically interprets ichinen in his doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life ( Jpn ichinen–sanze Chin i-nien san-ch’ien ). In this doctrine, ichinen indicates the mind of an ordinary person, which at each moment is endowed with the potential of three thousand realms; its characteristics are: (a) it pervades the entire universe; (b) it includes both body and mind; (c) it includes both self and environment; (d) it gives rise to good and evil; and (e) it encom-passes cause and effect simultaneously. Nichiren (1222-1282) embodied this philosophical framework in the form of a mandala known as the Gohonzon. By this he aimed to establish a practical way for ordinary people to manifest Buddhahood from among the Ten Worlds of their own lives. SGI Dictionary

Being good or being a success at something isn’t just about talent, it’s about having the desire, in your heart, to make a go of it.

If you have a strong Ichinen, you are far more likely to reach your goal. You still have to put in the effort and in fact, the more talent you have, the more effort is needed, because your end result might be far more exacting than a less talented person.

If you think you will fail, you will. You must embrace your goals, your targets, with every fibre of your being. Strive with all your might, night and day towards that goal and you are far more likely to succeed.

Success takes focus, desire, effort, hard work, determination and perseverance.

Ichinen covers them all and chanting for what you want to achieve makes your ichinen stronger and stronger.

When Less Is More

24 Oct 2010 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , ,

There are times when the less you say, the louder the message becomes.

A wonderful day, shared chanting, closeness and fresh air and sunshine, who could ask for more.

Branksome ChineOk, I know it’s the Worlds of Rapture, Hunger, Animality as well as the other seven in various measures all rolled into one.

So a real world case of ichinen sanzen, 3000 worlds in one moment.

Enough said.

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