Religious Field Research Because of the Diversity

Religious Field Research

Because of the diversity within Buddhism, the religion is widely misunderstood and misrepresented. Before visiting the local chapter of a Buddhist organization, I was mystified by all of the different groups in the area. I had met a practitioner of Nichren Buddhism last month, and decided to find out if I could attend the religious service as part of my field research. After phoning in advance, it was clear that visitors were welcome as long as we were not disruptive. I was told that the service lasted for about one hour and consisted mainly of chanting.

According to the Nichren Buddhist Association of America, "The purpose of Buddhism is to enable each and every person to eliminate suffering from their lives." The techniques by which the practitioner attempts to eliminate suffering varies. I always knew that meditation was integral to the Buddhist traditions, but I did not know how different the types of meditation were before exploring the Nichiren Buddhist Association for the field research. The Nichiren Buddhist Association practices "mantra meditation," which I had not thought to be part of Buddhism at all. In particular, "Nichiren Buddhism is a form of Japanese Buddhism that emphasizes repeated recitation of the mantra namu myoho renge kyo," ("Nichiren Buddhism"). I did not know that there were other forms of Japanese Buddhism besides Zen.

The biggest misconception many people have about Buddhism is that the Buddha is a god. I already read enough about Buddhism to know that Buddha is not a god but a human being who attained enlightenment via the practice of meditation. Like most other branches of Buddhism, the Nichiren sect believes that "it is possible to attain enlightenment in a single lifetime through practice ("Nichiren Buddhism," n.d.). Practicing meditation and chanting the mantra namu myoho renge kyo is considered "the primary ingredients in the recipe for developing our innate enlightened condition, or Buddhahood," ("The Daily Practice," n.d.).

Not knowing what to expect from the service, I arrived wearing simple and comfortable clothing because I expected to be seated for a long time to chant. I was correct about this. There were blankets and cushions on the floor for the visitors. Many of the regular members of the organization bring their own meditation cushions to sit on, and were already sitting with their eyes closed when I arrived. I was surprised at how informal the service was, because I expected it to be more like a class or religious service with a leader. Instead, I waited for something to happen and nothing actually happened until one of the members got up to dim the lights. She sounded a gong softly. Then, without any cue the people seated on the floor all started to chant the mantra. They chanted at the same pace at first, but gradually some people became louder or faster than the others. No one seemed to care.

I expected the chanting session to be mentally challenging, and it was. I looked at my watch a lot during the session, and realized how good of a mental discipline the chanting could be. If it did nothing else, it would improve my concentration. The fact that many people believe it is important to chant "repeatedly for as long as several hours daily" astonished me ("Nichiren Buddhism," n.d.). I began to admire the practitioners of Buddhism. The practitioners were from different ethnic backgrounds. There were many Asian people in attendance, but about thirty percent of the people were white/Caucasian and there were also several African-Americans in attendance. I was impressed with the diversity of the turnout.

One thing that surprised me the most was that the Nichiren organization did not feel like a cult. For some reason, I expected the meeting to feel like a cult because it was foreign to me. There were some small portraits on the wall of Buddhist monks, and a few Japanese paintings. In general, though, Nichiren did not seem like it was part of any mainstream religion.