Reidan (ray dawn) is a esoteric Buddhist practice. The Chinese character for Rei (above left) translates as spirit. Dan (above right) translates as decision or judgement. It is a expedient means that many Nichiren Buddhist practice and benefit from. It is often referred to as cross Buddhism. The symbol above is a lotus flower with two intersecting lines within. The lines of the cross represent heaven (verticle line) and human beings (horizontal line). The heavenly realm and human realm are together. This is the Buddha's pure land. This is shown within the Lotus Sutra in chapter 16.
Those who practice Reidan wear a O-fuda (amulet) of the Gushoreijin and chant the sacred title, Namu Myoho Renge Kyo.
According to the Kegon Sutra (Flower Garland Sutra), when one is born two dieties are born with you on your shoulders. These dieties are called :
Dosho Ten (same birth) and
Domyo Ten (same name).
You may think of these as your own guardian angels or your own divine nature. In the Yakushi Sutra (Medicine Buddha Sutra) these deities are refered to as the Kushojin. We refer to these two dieties as the Gushoreijin (goo show ray gin). Once a month at the reidan service those people wearing the Gushoreijin-fu, replace their old amulet with a new one. The monthly service allows us to deeply reafirm are practice and vows as followers of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren Shonin and the amulet is a daily reminder of our Bodhisattva practice.
Through the practice and study of reidan principles we see consciousness and the mind in a different way. The founder of our order Nichiren Shonin, would tell us that when we chant, we are Buddhas. We can gain understanding into our past, our present and our future. Concepts of the Sandaihiho (Three Great Secreat Dharmas) and Ichinen Sanzen (3000 moments in one thought) are studied along with Kushiki (nine consciousness theory) and other Buddhist doctrine.
"When the sky is blue, the land is bright, so those who know the Lotus Sutra can see the reasons for occurrences in the world. For those who are incapable of understanding the truth of the 3,000 existences contained in one thought, Lord Sakyamuni Buddha, with his great compassion, wraps this jewel with the five characters of myo, ho, ren, ge and kyo and hangs it around the neck of the ignorant in the latter age of degeneration. The four great bodhisattvas will protect such people, just as T’ai-kung-wang and the Duke of Chou assisted the young ruler, King Chen, of the Chou dynasty, or the four elders of the Shang-shan attended child Emperor Hui of the Han dynasty in ancient China."
quote above from Nichiren Shonin's writing
Kanjin Honzon Sho
Learn more by joining the Reidan service and/or speaking with Ryuoh Faulconer Shonin.