THE MEANING OF THE WATER OFFERING, THE OFFFERING OF FLOWERS, LIGHT AND FRAGRANCE
from SHINYO MAGAZINE Issue 12 January 1997
WATER
Water is so important to people that it's sometimes even referred to as "the mother of all life"; so the act of offering water to the Gohonzon first thing in the morning is very meaningful. Water offered to the Buddha is called "aka" in Buddhism. This is a sanskrit word that means "merit water".
Every morning, we set aside the first water out of the kitchen tap (traditionally, the first water drawn from the well) for offering to the Gohonzon. This water we offer to the Gohonzon immediately before doing Gongyo, and then we take it down from the altar right before doing evening Gongyo.
When you offer the water, first you put a leaf from the shikimi tree (an aromatic evergreen) into the vessel and pour the water over it. Then you put the water vessel up on the altar to offer it to the Gohonzon, kneel in an upright position, chant the Daimoku three times, and pray:
I offer this water in devotion to the Three Treasures of the Buddhism of Sowing and to express my gratitude for their beneficence, Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo.(Namu Honmon Geshu Sampou, Houon Shatoku no on-tame ni, Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo.)
Lastly, ring the bell three times and chant the Daimoku three times again. The lid for the water vessel should be left off during the day time. Place it on the cup after you've taken the water down in the evening.
This offering of water has a couple of other meanings, too. The most fundamental one the Daishonin states in the Heritage of the Ultimate Law of Life: "The function of water is to wash away filth and impurity" (Shinpen, p.514, MW-I,p.21). Even if water itself is unclean, its function is to purify and remove filth. This is analogous to the function of chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo, which lets you remove the "filth" from your life by extinguishing your own karma and past slander. Another significance is that just as water flows from a high place downward to lower ones, the Buddha's compassion and mercy flows from the heights of the world of Buddhahood downward to equally benefit beings in the lower nine worlds.
FLOWERS, FRAGRANCE AND LIGHT
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