Study is a core practice for Nichiren Buddhists, who dive deeply into the Lotus Sutra and the writings of Nichiren Daishonin as a way to cultivate their inherent Buddha-nature. Mahazi Roundtree has been a Nichiren practitioner for 38 years. She is a study leader in the Nichiren Buddhist association, Buddhists of African Descent, and she lives in Harlem, New York, where she is a corporate paralegal by day and a jazz vocalist & bass player by night.
This and the next three episodes feature conversations with members of the association, Buddhists of African Descent (aka BAD) which engages in connecting traditional systems of African spirituality with the basic tenets and principles of Nichiren Buddhism. Thembi is one of the founding co-architects of BAD. She speaks with Rima Vesely-Flad about the significance of Buddhahood for herself and other Black practitioners in America.
One compelling teaching of Nichiren Daishonin, the founder of the Nichiren Buddhist tradition, is that each person is responsible for contributing to world peace and justice. He believed that the daily practice of chanting was an essential form of committing to compassionate action, and could generate benefits for society. Bishop Myokei Caine-Barrett Shonin is the first American woman and the first of African-Japanese descent to attain full ordination as a Nichiren priest.
One tenet of Nichiren Buddhism known as “faith in action” is used consistently in the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin, the founder of the tradition. The use of the word “faith,” though seldom associated with Buddhism, has helped a number of practitioners in the West make connections between their Christian heritage and their Buddhist practice. Ben Harris, is one such practitioner who has made the connections between seemingly very different religious traditions.