Maio-lo (711–782): Restorer of T'ien-T'ai (Tendai) Buddhism.
Maka Shikan or Great Concentration and Insight: One of the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai's three major works, along with the Hokke Gengi, and Hokke Mongu.
Mandala: The term mandala originally meant a round or square altar on which Buddhas are placed. It is translated in China by terms meaning “perfectly endowed” or “cluster of blessings.” The mandala in Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism is the Gohonzon.
Manos-vijnana or manos consciousness: The seventh of the Nine Levels of Consciousness. The nine levels are defined as smell, touch, taste, sound, sight, the conscious mind, the unconscious, the karma repository, and fundamental enlightenment. The Sanskrit word manas, from which manos is derived, means “to ponder.” This consciousness performs the function of abstract thought and discerns the inner world. Awareness of the self is said to originate at this level. The passionate attachment to ego, which functions to create negative karma, is also regarded as the working of the manos consciousness, influenced by the eighth level, or alaya consciousness.
Mantra: Sanskrit word meaning “True Words.” A “formula” consisting of esoteric words or syllables, which are said to embody mystic powers and were used originally in Brahmanism. Esoteric Buddhism views mantras as distillations of Buddhist truth. Mantras are often employed in rituals in which they are said to help achieve union with a metaphorical Buddha known as Dainichi (Tathagata Mahavirochana).
Mantra-powered visualization: The meditation technique first expounded upon by Soka Gakkai Vice President, Takehisa Tsuji, which involves using faith and the mantra Nam-myoho-renge-kyo along with one's imagination for the purpose of healing.
Mindfulness meditation: A method of dhyana meditation used to achieve higher states of consciousness, now being used as a relaxation tool in alternative medicine.
Mudras: Signs and gestures made with the hands and fingers, which symbolize the enlightenment and vows of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Mudras are commonly employed in the esoteric Shingon form of Buddhism as a way of achieving union with the metaphorical Buddha, Mahavirochana (Dainichi).
Mystic Law: Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo: The fundamental component of the practice of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism, it expresses the true entity of life that allows each individual to directly tap his or her enlightened nature. Although the deepest meaning of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is revealed only through its invocation, the literal meaning is: Nam (devotion), the fusion of one's life with the universal; myoho (Mystic Law), the entity of the universe and its phenomenal manifestations; renge (lotus), the simultaneity of cause and effect; kyo (Buddha's teaching), all phenomena and activities of life. Myoho-renge-kyo is the title of the twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra translated by Kumarajiva (344–413).
Nichiren Daishonin (1222–1282): The founder of the school of Buddhism upon which the Soka Gakkai International (see) bases its activities. He inscribed the true object of worship for the observation of one's mind, the Gohonzon, and established the invocation of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo as the universal practice to attain enlightenment.
Nichiren Shoshu: Literally, the “orthodox Nichiren sect,” which regards Nichiren as its founder and Nikko Shonin as his successor, with a head temple in Taiseki-ji in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Nichiren Shoshu was formerly allied with the lay organization, Soka Gakkai, until 1990, when it excommunicated all 10 million members of the lay organization because the latter insisted on reformation of the priesthood and that the Nichiren Shoshu open up to modernization.
Nirvana: Enlightenment, the ultimate goal of Buddhist practice. An awakening to the true nature of all phenomena. The word actually means “blown out,” and is variously translated as extinction, emancipation, cessation, quiescence, or non-rebirth. Nirvana was originally regarded as the state in which all illusions and desires and the cycle of birth and death itself are extinguished. From the standpoint of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism, nirvana is an attainable life condition existing in this world and reality. Nirvana is a life-state of Buddhahood that is impervious to birth and death, rather than the idea of an eternal heaven.
One Great Vehicle: The law of Myoho-renge-kyo expounded in the Lotus Sutra.
Pali Canon: Oldest of the known Buddhist texts.
Paramita (Six Paramitas): Practices that Mahayana Bodhisattvas undertake to attain enlightenment. Generally, paramita is a Sanskrit term interpreted as “perfection” or “having reached the opposite shore.” The six paramitas are: almsgiving; keeping the precepts; forbearance; assiduousness; meditation; obtaining wisdom which enables one to perceive the true nature of all things.
Prana: “Wind” or “vital force.” Sanskrit term from the Upanisads that represents “the center.” A simile of Brahmanism indicating that prana is representative of an immanent, intra-cosmic force. Life force.
Pre-Lotus Sutra Teachings: Teachings Shakyamuni expounded before the Lotus Sutra. According to T'ien-t'ai's classification of the Buddha's teachings into five periods, in the order in which they were taught, the teachings of the Kegon, Agon, Hodo, and Hannya periods constitute the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings.
Qigong: Chinese health and wellness practice derived from Taoism.
Quantum world view: A perception similar to the Buddhist idea of dependent origination. Quantum consciousness recognizes all life as a stream of intelligent energy.
Relaxation response: A term used by Harvard professor, Herbert Benson, M.D., for the scientifically measurable influence of faith and prayer in healing, detailed in his book, The Relaxation Response.
Remembered wellness: Term used by Herbert Benson to refer to a person's immune response produced by remembering a state of wellness.
Shakyamuni: Also known as Siddartha or Gautama. Born in Nepal about 2500 years ago, he was the first recorded Buddha and founder of Buddhism. For 50 years he taught various sutras (teachings) culminating in the Lotus Sutra, which he declared to be his ultimate teaching.
Shiki-shin-funi: Principle of the oneness of body and mind.
Siddhartha or Gautama: Birth names of Shakyamuni Buddha.
Simonton Method: A visualization technique devised in the early 1970s by radiation oncologist Dr. Carl Simonton and his wife, Stephanie Matthews-Simonton, a psychologist. The patient pictures immune system cells as numerous and strong, and cancer cells as isolated and weak.
Soka Gakkai International (SGI): The worldwide organization of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism, led by President Daisaku Ikeda, active in 183 nations and territories, and devoted to the creation of values through the promotion of peace, culture, and education. The United States branch of this Buddhism is called the SGI-USA.
Superluminal: Faster-than-light phenomena in quantum theory. Relevant non-local concept explored by Nick Herbert in his book Faster than Light: Superluminal Loopholes in Physics (p. 15).
Ten Worlds/Three Thousand Worlds: There are Ten Worlds that are part of a larger schematic called the Three Thousand Worlds (Ichinen Sanzen, or 3000 Worlds in a single life moment). They are conditions of life, or worlds within human consciousness, that are ever present and inherent in all life. The Ten Worlds are Hell, Hunger, Animality, Anger, Humanity, Heaven, Learning, Realization, Bodhisattva (altruism), and Buddhahood (enlightenment). Each one of the Ten Worlds has an identical Ten Worlds within it, like bubbles within a bubble, equaling 100 potential worlds. This is known as the “mutual possession.” For example, if I am suffering terribly because of a tragic event, I would be in the state of Hell, but in that hell is the potential of all other Ten Worlds. I then chant daimoku and immediately bring out the Tenth World of Buddhahood. My life condition is then raised and I might realize the true cause of my suffering. I am then in the state of Learning or Realization. My suffering, although not forgotten, might rise to the world of Heaven (sometimes referred to as Rapture), where the dominant world of Hell could be reversed; Heaven would then become the dominant world and Hell its mutually possessed world. These Ten Worlds fall i
nto and are influenced by the Ten Factors, which are the dynamic of all life. These factors are Appearance, Nature, Entity, Power, Influence, Internal Cause, Relation, Latent Effect, Manifest Effect, and their Consistency from beginning to end. Multiplying the 100 worlds by the Ten Factors produces 1000 potential worlds. These 1000 worlds are influenced by the Three Realms that characterize all life. The Three Realms are: the realm of the environment; the realm of living beings; the realm of the five components of form, perception, conception, volition, and consciousness. The 1000 worlds multiplied by the Three Realms equals 3000 worlds. All things that live, from an amoeba to an extraterrestrial, contain these 3000 worlds.
Three Vehicles: The men and women described in the Lotus Sutra as Learners, Adepts, and Bodhisattvas—or those of Learning, Realization, and Bodhisattva.
T'ien-t'ai or Chih-i: Synonymous with the Tendai (sect). School of Northern Mahayana Buddhism founded by Chih-i, who is commonly referred to as the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai. He organized Buddhism into five periods and asserted that Shakyamuni's ultimate teaching was found in the Lotus Sutra.
Toda, Josei: Second President of the Soka Gakkai.
Yoga: Applies to all the disciplines and philosophies originating in India. A form of meditation developed in ancient India, aimed at liberating one from the physical limitations of the body, or, more broadly, from sufferings, by achieving concentration of mind and fusing with truth. There are several schools of yoga that employ a variety of disciplines, including breath control, special postures, etc. Today some of the physical yogic disciplines are widely practiced for health and tranquility of mind, without any particular religious motivation.
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Camp, John Michael Francis. Magic, Myth & Medicine. New York: Taplinger, 1974.
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Index
A
“Actions of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra, The,” 4 n.1
AIDS, 35
Akashic Record, 7
alaya-vijnana, 7, 20, 33, 141
amala-vijnana, 7, 8, 33, 141
amrita, 142
Anatomy of an Illness, 27
Ayurveda, 142
Ayurvedic medicine, 28
B
bankruptcy, 130
bardo states, 7
Benson, Herbert, xiv, 25–27, 33
blood count level, 123, 124
blood pressure, high, 62
body-mind relationship, 15–17
misconceptions about, 27
Buddha, the, 5, 23, 64, 142
Buddhism, Mahayana, 4
Buddhism, Nichiren, 71
Buddhist healing, and empowerment, 3
Buddhist healing, origins, 4
C
Camp, John, 10
cancer, author's family's response to, 74–75
cancer, author's fight with, 69–139
cancer, battling, 55–60
cancer, breast, 58–60, 105
cancer, ovarian, 138
cancer patients' visitors, 85
cancer, spread, 84, 94
cancer, survival rate, 133, 134
case histories, Adams, xiii
Corey, xiii, Corey, xiv
Miss M., 61–62
Mr. F., 74–76
Mr. G., 45–46, 83–84
Mr. P., 55–56
Mr. R., 60, 78, 79
Mr. W., 56–58
Mrs. C., 105–106
Mrs. T., 55–56
Ms. G., 58–61
Ms. J., 53–56
Ms. K., 62–64
Ms. L., 62
old man shouting for Rose, 82
chakra, 142
chanting, 51
how to, 39–41
in hospital, 80
to lessen nausea, 111–113
when to, 40
chemotherapy, 76–78
author's first experience, 97–99
author's fourth cycle, 112
author's second cycle, 99
author's third cycle, 108
BAP, 93
embracing the treatment, 110–111
and marijuana, 101
MOPP, 92–93
and numbers, 102
pain of, 102
side effects, 92, 101, 108, 132
chi, 17, 142
Chih, 11, 152
Chopra, Deepak, xiv, 7, 28, 29
collective unconscious, 20
coma, 61–62
consciousness, 7–9
Cousins, Norman, xiv, 27
coward, inner, 99–100
D
daimoku, 17–18, 22, 46
bodily correspondences, 38
“The Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra,” 22
death, 115–116, 118
Devin, 72, 75, 85, 100, 104
dharma, 142
dhyana, 13–14
diabetic ulcers, 60
doshas, 142
Dossey, Larry, xiv, 7, 29, 47
Dr. B., 123, 125, 129
Dr. M., 112
Dr. S., 92, 93, 109, 112, 123
dying, 116
E
Eadie, Betty, 117
Embraced by the Light, 117 n. 1
“Emergence of the Treasure Tower,” 18
emotional difficulties, 62–63
Epictetus, 30
eternity, 8–9
Expedient Means, 142
F
faith and prayer in healing, 25–33
faith factor, 26, 143
faith, strength of, 136
fibromyalgia, 53–55
Four Sufferings, 5, 143
G
God, 21
Gohonzon, 18, 19, 73, 87, 143
Gosho Zenshu, 143
Gosho, 10, 87
Guatama, 5, 150
guided imagery, 144
H
Head First, 27
Healing Heart, The, 27
Healing Words, 29
Hines Veteran's Hospital, 75, 78, 81, 92, 123
Hodgkin's disease, 70, 107
author's diagnosis, 73, 92
symptoms, 72
Holy Spirit, 17
I
ICE, 55
Ikeda, Daisaku, 64, 144
illness, karmic causes of, 9–13
illness, six causes of, 11–12
; immune system, 33, 35
Internal Revenue Service, 100, 130
J
Jambudvipa, 23
Jung, C. G., xiv, 20
K
Kabat-Zinn, Jon, 32
karma, 6–7, 8, 144
and causes of illness, 9–13
causes of bad, 12–13
changing, 85
instant, 71
negative, 103
karmic causes, dealing with, 9
karmic reward and retribution, 80
Key to Revitalization, The, 37
ku, 11, 118, 144
kundalini, 17, 144
Kyo-o, 128
L
leukemia, 36
life after death, 114
life dynamic, 145
life, eternity of, 8
Liturgy of the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin, The, 111
Lotus Sutra, xvi, 4, 5, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 36, 49, 64, 82, 86, 94, 113, 145
lupus, 35
lymph node tumor, 107, 108
lymphangiogram, 90–92, 137
Lynn, 73, 84–85, 94, 100, 105, 110, 115, 123
M
Magic, Myth and Medicine, 10
Mahayana Buddhism, 4, 7, 145
Maio-lo, 146
Maka Shikan, 11, 146
mandala, 146
Modern Buddhist Healing Page 13
