Editing SG31SBE-T (section)

=== The Central Aim of the Revitalized Buddhist Movement ===
'''B:''' But I hear that you’re going to stop chanting ''Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō'' and instead chant ''Namu Shakamuni Budaya''—“Homage to Śākyamuni Buddha.”

'''A:''' That is precisely the central aim of the Revitalized Buddhist movement. All disciples of the Buddha who profess Buddhism should give up the ''nenbutsu'', give up faith in Mahāvairocana, and give up all the forms of the established Buddhist institutions. First, we should unite under the banner of ''Namu Shakamuni Budaya'', expressing our reverence for the person of the Buddha, and from there attempt a new advance into society. Can you think of any better form than this…

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…one that could serve both as the single fundamental form common to all Buddhists and, at the same time, as a means of unifying Buddhism? Of course, this form has already been advocated in the past by earnest pioneers. Perhaps because the times were not yet ripe, however, it has never acquired much influence. But whether or not it presently has influence is beside the point. I believe this to be the inevitable destiny of Buddhism from the present into the future, and I intend to put my whole spirit into casting this one stone.

'''B:''' I understand what you’re striving for. But there’s one thing I still can’t accept. You said that you’re trying to “bring the spirit of Master Nichiren to life.” Yet Nichiren himself said, “The soul of Nichiren is nothing other than ''Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō''.”<ref>Nichiren, Kyō’ō-dono Gohenji 経王殿御返事 (“Reply to Kyō’ō”), composed in 1273. The passage reads: “The Buddha’s intent is the Lotus Sutra; the soul of Nichiren is nothing other than Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō.”</ref> If you abandon the ''daimoku'' and instead chant ''Namu Shakamuni Budaya'', doesn’t that amount to abandoning the spirit of the Master?

'''A:''' That is a perfectly reasonable question. But immediately before that passage come the words, “The Buddha’s intent is the ''Lotus Sutra''; the soul of Nichiren is nothing other than ''Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō''.”

In other words, if it has been established that the ''Lotus Sutra'' is not the unique scripture embodying the fundamental spirit of the Buddha whom Master Nichiren so ceaselessly revered, then chanting the name of that very Buddha—''Namu Shakamuni Budaya''—rather than ''Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō'' would actually be more faithful to the spirit of Master Nichiren, who founded his teaching on the basis of scholarly inquiry. I certainly do not believe that doing so constitutes a desecration of the Master.

'''B:''' If that way of understanding the ''Lotus Sutra'' is correct, then your argument makes sense. But are you saying that the ''Lotus Sutra'' does not embody the fundamental spirit of Buddhism?