Viśiṣṭacāritra (; also known as Superior Practice) is a

bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...

mentioned in the 15th, 21st, and 22nd chapters of the ''

Lotus Sutra The ''Lotus Sūtra'' (Sanskrit: ''Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtram'', ''Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma'', zh, p=Fǎhuá jīng, l=Dharma Flower Sutra) is one of the most influential and venerated Buddhist Mahāyāna sūtras. ...

''. He is one of the four great perfected bodhisattvas who attends

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

and protects the ''Lotus Sutra'' and its devotees. The other three are Anantacaritra, Visuddhacaritra, and Supratisthitacaritra; together they make up the four great primarily evolved bodhisattvas. Viśiṣṭacāritra is also believed to represent the "true self" characteristic of

buddhahood In Buddhism, Buddha (, which in classic Indo-Aryan languages, Indic languages means "awakened one") is a title for those who are Enlightenment in Buddhism, spiritually awake or enlightened, and have thus attained the Buddhist paths to liberat ...

, which is the selflessness of

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

.McCormick, Ryuei M. "The Bodhisattvas of the Earth" ''Nichirenscoffeehouse.net''. Nichiren's Coffeehouse and Gohonzon Gallery, 2002. Web. 21 Feb. 2011.
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In Nichiren Buddhism

In most schools of

Nichiren Buddhism Nichiren Buddhism (), also known as ''Hokkeshū'' (, meaning ''Lotus Sect''), is a branch of Mahayana Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese Buddhist priest Nichiren (1222–1282) and is one of the Kamakura period school ...

Nichiren was a Japanese Buddhist priest and philosopher of the Kamakura period. His teachings form the basis of Nichiren Buddhism, a unique branch of Japanese Mahayana Buddhism based on the '' Lotus Sutra''. Nichiren declared that the '' Lotus Sutra ...

is believed to have fulfilled the vow of Viśiṣṭacāritra during his lifetime. This is because he revealed what he held to be the Superior Practice of chanting the title (''daimoku'') of the ''Lotus Sutra'',

Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō ''Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō'' (Kanji: ) is a Japanese sacred phrase chanted within all forms of Nichiren Buddhism. In English, it means "Devotion to the Mystic Dharma of the ''Lotus Flower Sutra''" or "Homage to the Sublime Dharma of the ''Lotu ...

, which would quickly allow all beings to attain enlightenment in their present lifetime, no matter what their capacities. According to Anesaki, from the time of his exile to

Sado Island is an island located in the eastern part of the Sea of Japan, under the jurisdiction of Sado City, Niigata Prefecture, Japan, with a coastline of . In October 2017, Sado Island had a population of 55,212 people. Sado Island covers an area of ...

Nichiren deemed himself as the reincarnation of Viśiṣṭacāritra.

Nichiren Shōshū, Soka Gakkai and Kempon Hokke

Nichiren Shōshū is a branch of Nichiren Buddhism based on the traditionalist teachings of the 13th century Buddhism in Japan, Japanese Buddhist Bhikkhu#Monks in Japan, priest Nichiren (1222–1282), claiming him as its founder through his senior disciple Nikk ...

Soka Gakkai is a Japanese new religions, Japanese new religion led by Minoru Harada since December 2023 based on the teachings of the 13th-century Buddhist priest Nichiren. It claims the largest membership among Nichiren Buddhism, Nichiren Buddhist group ...

and the Kempon Hokke schools, Nichiren is revered as the reincarnation of Viśiṣṭacāritra because he revealed the "cause" of

Buddhahood In Buddhism, Buddha (, which in classic Indo-Aryan languages, Indic languages means "awakened one") is a title for those who are Enlightenment in Buddhism, spiritually awake or enlightened, and have thus attained the Buddhist paths to liberat ...

: chanting "

", a practice called ''daimoku'', whereas Gautama is seen as the "Buddha of True Effect" as he only revealed the "effect" of Buddhahood. This is based on the passage in Chapter 16 of the ''Lotus Sutra'' that reads, "Originally I hakyamuni Buddhapracticed the bodhisattva way, and the life that I acquired then has yet to come to an end" Nichiren Shōshū and Soka Gakkai interpret the passage to mean that Gautama Buddha must have practiced something to attain Buddhahood, but in the ''Lotus Sutra'' he did not reveal what that practice was, whereas Nichiren taught the daimoku, which leads all beings to Buddhahood. These groups conclude Shakyamuni Buddha attained buddhahood in the remote past through the daimoku. ''The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind'' states, "Showing profound compassion for those unable to comprehend the gem of the doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life, the Buddha wrapped it within the five characters f Myōhō Renge Kyō with which he then adorned the necks of the ignorant people of the latter age.

References

;Footnotes ;Sources * *

In Nichiren Buddhism

Nichiren Shōshū, Soka Gakkai and Kempon Hokke

References

Further reading