.Everything You ever wanted to know about Zange/Sange....

Zange
Guidance from Vice President Tsuji
Appreciation
For having the Gohonzon.
For being able to change my karma.
For being alive at this time.
For all the people around me.
For everything being a teacher to me.
Self-Realization
Realize that for every EXTERNAL CAUSE (nyo ze en),
There is first an INTERNAL CAUSE (nyo ze in).
Every hurt, anger, frustration, or painful situation that occurs to me is MY RESPONSIBILITY.
My karma forced it to happen, or forced them to behave that way.
Hendoku Iyaku-I can turn poison into medicine and become aware of my own “Internal Hooks”
that draw such experiences to me.
I ALONE am responsible for my life condition.
Apology
For current slander in thought, word, and action-let me not want to do it anymore.
Daimoku of altruism-chant for the health and well-being of the person(s) involved, and that they
may deepen their faith. Ask the Gohonzon, “What can I do to rectify the situation?”
Determination
To work harder for kosen-rufu.
To create value in the area of family relations, school, job, and activities.
ONLY AFTER CHANTING FOR ALL THE ABOVE, CHANT FOR WHAT YOU DESIRE
OR WANT TO CHANGE OR ACHIEVE IN YOUR LIFE.
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Sange
"In Sanskrit it is called Kshama. Sometimes pronounced zange, although strictly speaking sange
is correct. Generally, to acknowledge one's faults shortcomings or past misdeeds and seek to
correct or make amends for them. The Sanskrit kshama appears often in the sutras. In early
Buddhism a gathering called upavasatha or poshadha (Jap fusatsu) was held on the fifeenth and
thirtieth days of each month, where any member of the Buddhist order who violated the precepts
apologized before the monastic community with the aim of purifying his mind. This act of
apology was called kshama or sange." A Dictionary of Buddhist Terms and Concepts
Fortunately, the Daishonin's Buddhism provides us with a way to bring forth this powerful life
force and wisdom. The power of our Buddhist practice also enables us to transform negative
karma or circumstances into a motivating force for creating great future benefit and reward. Faith
and practice enable a change of destiny and the accumulation of good fortune. The key to
breaking through the wall of our bad karma and creating future happiness lies only in ourselves
—in our own actions.
Nichiren Daishonin writes in "On Prolonging Life" that "sincere repentance will eradicate even
immutable karma, to say nothing of karma which is mutable" (The Major Writings of Nichiren
Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 229).
"Sincere repentance" here means to repeatedly refresh our determination to dedicate ourselves to
the Law of Buddhism by continually carrying out the practice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-
kyo for our sake and for that of others. This is the purpose of our SGI organization—to provide
many people with support in doing just this. When we freely engage ourselves in chanting
daimoku and in SGI activities, powerful vitality will emerge from within us. Not only will we
break the restraints of our past karma, we will also build a rock-solid foundation of good fortune
and happiness for the future.
Best regards...
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Deep Sange (Zange)
Dick Causton, late Director General of SGI-UK
UKE July 1985
"Sincere repentance will eradicate even immutable karma, to say nothing of karma which is
mutable" ('On prolonging life', M.W. Vol. 1, p.229)
What does Sange really mean? Most people would answer, "It means apologising to the
Gohonzon". "But apologising to whom and to what?" we reasonably reply. "After all, Gohonzon
isn't God, so why should I have to apologise, especially if it is for something I did in a past life
which I don't even know about? Sounds like confession!"
Yet the Gosho persists: "Even with small slanders, the Konichibo Gosho reads "if you do not do
sange you cannot avoid falling into the evil paths. But even if you committed heavy slander, if
you do sange then you can expiate your sins". (Gosho Zenshu p.926) Whilst the Gosho Reply to
Ota Nyudo declares: "The Nirvana Sutra, referring to the Lotus Sutra states, 'Even slander of the
True Law will be eradicated if one repents and professes faith in the True Law… He should
devote himself to the True Law, because no other teaching can save and protect him'." (M.W.
Vol.2, p.250)
What then, does sange truly mean and how can we actually do it, deep in our lives?
Those who have felt that sange sounds like confession can certainly be fully excused for their
misconceptions, for sange, a word used in ancient Buddhist scriptures, was adopted much later in
history by Christian missionaries in Japan as meaning "to regret past sins and confess them to a
priest or God". It is not surprising therefore, that for us born into the Christian tradition in the
West, sange can easily be misinterpreted. The original Buddhist definition of this word however,
is totally different. It is contained in the "Bodhisattva Fugen Sutra" and reads as follows: "If you
wish to do sange sit upright and meditate on the true entity of life". This is further defined in
Buddhist terms as "pondering the cause of your past slander and sin due to your ignorance and
illusions about life. Thus by realising the true aspect of your life and revealing your Buddha
wisdom, you can then do sange".
In other words, rather than apology, sange is to recognise with your whole heart and with
inevitable regret, that your present suffering is due to an inherent cause in your life, which not
only led you to slander the Gohonzon in your past lives but also continues to cause you to do so
in this life. In this context, to understand the true meaning of sange it is necessary to appreciate
three important points:
A. That Buddhism explains in the Ten Factors of Life that the Law of Cause and Effect manifests
itself in four different ways. They are Noyze-in, Noyze-en, Noyze-ka and Nyoze-ho - the
inherent cause, the external cause, the latent effect and the manifest effect.
As an example of this, if you stir what looks like a glass of pure water with a spoon and it
becomes murky, the cause of its murkiness is not the spoon (which is the external cause) but the
fact that there is dirt in the water (inherent cause). Thus what Buddhism is concerned with is not
the spoon but the dirt in the water, which is our unhappy karma. From this it becomes clear, that
it doesn't matter in the least what we actually did in the past, i.e., the external cause - hating
someone or stopping someone from practising; what matters is the inherent cause which made us
behave like this, because this same inherent cause may still exist deep in our life and therefore is
causing us suffering now.
B. Slandering the Law is not only speaking against Buddhism, hating someone, preventing
someone from practising or causing disunity amongst members, even though these may be some
of the most evil forms. Slander is in fact any action which involves disrespect for life.
Thus pollution, injustice, misusing another person's possessions or money and of course, murder
or other criminal acts, are all slander. Even to misuse one's body by eating and drinking too
much is slander. Because we all possess the six lower worlds, especially the Three Evil Paths in
our lives, we cannot, in fact, help committing small slanders even when we are practising, which
is one of the main reasons why 'practise like flowing water' is so important; thereby we
continually make great causes which offset our inadvertent slander.
C. Whereas there can be a myriad different forms of external causes of slandering the Law and it
is usually quite impossible and indeed, truly unnecessary and undesirable to try to imagine which
particular ones we committed in the past, the inherent cause is in fact, unbelievably simple and
fundamental. It is one of the Three Poisons which beset our lives and every other human life in
this world. In other words, it is either greed, anger or ignorance of the true meaning and nature of
life itself; that ignorance which breeds not only blind stupidity but fear - especially fear for the
unknown.
Why should we suffer from greed or anger or fear? There is only one answer isn't there? We are
greedy and try to grab all we can in this life; we manifest anger in the form of arrogance or
contempt because we wish to wield power; we are fearful and lack confidence in ourselves
erecting barriers and screens to hide our true nature - only because we doubt (in other words,
slander) the unlimited power of the Gohonzon and especially that it exists nowhere else but in
ourselves.
If we knew without a shadow of a doubt that the Gohonzon - the Buddha state, source of all
courage, wisdom, compassion and good fortune - shone within us, anger, greed and ignorance or
fear would naturally be overcome and with them, the sufferings we are undergoing because of
them.
This is exactly as the Lotus Sutra declared: "If you wish to do sange, sit upright and meditate on
the true entity of life, and all your offences will vanish like frost and dewdrops in the sunlight of
enlightened wisdom". The true entity of life is of course, the Gohonzon or Nam-myoho-renge-
kyo.
Perhaps it is now becoming clear that deep sange is the process of:
- "Pondering the true aspect of our lives" in our daimoku, realizing that the only possible cause
which can have the effect of preventing us from seeing our Buddha nature at work must always
be past slander.
- Realising that this same inherent cause still exists in our life today because we were born with it
as part of our karma having failed to overcome it in our previous lives, thus perpetuating this
suffering.
- Recognising that the only way to overcome the effects of this poison is to struggle to fully trust
the Gohonzon and bring ourselves to realise above all, that the Buddha nature actually exists in
us. In other words to understand what is meant by the words in the Gosho: "Abutsubo is the
Treasure Tower itself and the Treasure Tower is Abutsubo himself". (M.W. Vol.1, p.30)
- Through this recognition of the true cause of our sufferings, to regret our arrogance and
ignorance with our whole hearts. This very act of deeply regretting is a quite natural and
spontaneous reaction to our discovery that our sufferings are due to nothing else but slandering
the Gohonzon and the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin.
- Determining with a deep sense of gratitude for the good fortune which has led us to the
Gohonzon in this life, to work for kosen rufu wholeheartedly exactly as the Buddha taught from
now on, in order to feel and realise the full power of the Gohonzon; at the same time, asking for
actual proof of the Buddha nature working in us where previously we slandered and doubted.
- Through this actual proof, freeing our Buddha nature from the awful constrictions of our
slander and doubts thereby finding true and lasting joy in life and in the limitless power of the
Gohozon. This is the process often described as "reflection, repentance, appreciation,
determination and devoted practice which is called zange".
Thus true Buddhism with its brilliant light, penetrates beyond the surface matters and external
causes, to the depths of life - to the very source of our agony - turning sufferings into
enlightenment and poison into good medicine - as we determinedly chant daimoku, not with
lingering guilt but with the resolve that we should at least feel and realise that the Buddha state is
actively working in our lives. As we do so the ignorance on which greed, anger and fear have fed
themselves for so long, disappears as our faith grows stronger and we become free.
"If the Japanese repent, they will be like King Ajatashatru who became a devout follower of
Buddhism, thereby curing his own leprosy and prolonging his life by forty years. Like
Ajatashatru, they will profess faith in spite of their earlier disbelief, and awaken to the eternity of
life". (M.W. Vol.1, p.154)
It is of course, valuable to do a form of sange every day during gongyo, expressing our sincere
regret for any slander we have committed, knowingly or unknowingly, in the past. Needless to
say, this should be heartfelt, not automatic and should always be followed by our fresh
determinations to fulfil the Buddha's will for kosen rufu.
However it is important we realise that this is not deep sange as described in this article. This is a
most profound experience in that it is directed towards a particular aspect of our karma and
brings about a radical change in our lives, through the actual proof of our Buddha nature at work
in an area in which we have never seen it in action before. Indeed it is this actual proof living
vividly in our minds that will prevent this tendency to slander from taking control of our minds
again.
We may need to do such a deep sange again to change our karma in some other area of our lives
but it is unlikely to be something we could achieve every day. For to achieve such a deep and
specific sange is usually a struggle over a period of time to bring the reality of the fact that one is
a slanderer from just a passing thought or theory in our minds, to a reality which fills our whole
lives with deep regret, gratitude for having the Gohonzon and determination to work for kosen
rufu as we have never worked before. Once achieved it is as if the bars of a prison in which we
have been incarcerated for as long as we can remember, have suddenly fallen away.
Mr. Satorno Izumi, vice-president of the Soka Gakkai, who wrote Guidelines in Faith and has
practised for over fifty years, once said, as an example, that if you stole a watch twenty years
ago, you are bound at some point to feel really sorry for this when you are in front of the
Gohonzon and express your sincere regret whilst chanting daimoku. However this is not
necessarily a deep and specific sange aimed at rooting out the inherent cause for stealing. Such a
deep sange is a total realisation of the way in which you have hurt that person's life as well as
your own, followed by an overwhelming desire to give him ten thousand gold watches if you
could only do so, in order to overcome the sufferings which you now realise the inherent cause
for this action has brought to you in this and many other different ways throughout your life.
source: www.geshu.org
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Sange
From UK Express October 1992
Sally Ratcliffe asks Barbara Cahill and Debbie Trenchard how and why we do sange.
'Sange is to become aware of your Buddhahood; to look at attitudes which prevent us from
realizing we are Buddhas.' (Barbara Cahill)
UKE: What does sange mean?
BC: Sange means to awaken to shortcomings and to seek to correct them, or to purify the mind.
The Fugen Sutra states, 'If you wish to make amends (perform sange), sit upright and meditate
upon the true entity of life and all your offences will vanish like frost and dewdrops in the
sunlight of enlightened wisdom.' To wake up to ignorance is, itself, the supreme act of sange.
UKE: Why is sange so often called 'Buddhist apology'?
BC: Sange is to become aware of your Buddhahood; to look at attitudes which prevent us from
realizing we are Buddhas. Mr. Tsuji's guidance, 'Victory Through Strong Prayer' clarifies why
sange is linked to the word 'apology'. He says we should apologize about any belief other than
belief in the Gohonzon - 'belief' meaning not necessarily formal beliefs but any attitude or
habitual way of thinking that is other than belief in our own Buddhahood.
DT: I think the term 'Buddhist apology' comes from the Western way of looking at sange, as if it
is repenting for sins. I grew up as a Catholic and when I first heard of sange, I thought of
confession. In fact, confession is a complete misinterpretation of the term.
On one level, sange is to practise Nichiren Daishonin's teachings continually. By using the
Buddhist practice, we become more in tune with life and the life around us. As we practise, we
become aware of our karma and the strict law of cause and effect, and genuinely take
responsibility for our lives. We begin to realize, through chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and
studying the Gosho, that we are generally unaware of our past misdeed - certainly those
stemming from previous lifetimes. By acknowledging them even if we can't remember them, we
realize that whatever our slander we can change it. Buddhism tells us that we can change poison
into medicine. What's more by gaining benefit ourselves from doing sange we can encourage
others.
UKE: Why do people do sange? Should everyone do it?
BC: It is most important to realize that our real identity is Buddhahood and that the karma we
have built up - the bad karma of slandering others or ourselves - has obstructed us from seeing
our true identity. Our suffering comes from not realizing the true entity of Buddhahood in
ourselves and everybody and everything.
We hold on to suffering unnecessarily. Say, for example, we have had a great loss: we can go
over and over it in our minds so that that actually becomes our identity - the person who 'lost'.
Our daimoku tells us who we really are - Buddhas. Our real essence is Buddhahood and it's
being obscured by this mistaken way of thinking about ourselves. So that's why we have to
apologize about this mistaken way of thinking.
Whenever we chant even one daimoku, it sets us on a fresh course, directing our lives towards
Buddhahood. The daimoku we chant wipes out all the past misdeeds or slanders in an instant.
However, because we don't believe this and don't believe in the power of daimoku, even while
we're chanting we re-establish the power of our negative karma by, for instance, slandering
ourselves or slandering someone else; or by trying to control things through our animality or fear
or whatever. This is why sange helps. It directs us away from those habitual thoughts and lets us
see the true aspect of our lives, which is Buddhahood.
We say something like, 'I'm sorry, I'm holding on to this pain', for example. Then we follow this
with a determination: 'But I'm determined to let go of it.' If we are suffering at all we should do
sange - it's the quickest way to deal with it!
UKE: Are there times in one's life when sange is particularly recommended?
BC: Yes - when there is something particular that we want to actualize, or if we're feeling some
great suffering. We should just apologize about whatever you're hanging on to and we don't even
at that point have to know what it is. Then follow it with a determination. We never have to
analyze and search for what it is. If we need to know, it will just occur to us while we chant.
DT: As human beings, we sometimes feel that unless we are suffering we cannot see the effects
of slander, but we don't have to be feeling this to do sange properly.
Sange also involves expressing our gratitude, even in suffering. We can say: 'Thank you,
Gohonzon. Thanks that I am alive and able to see my slander and so can change it.' This act of
gratitude allows us to turn that point of suffering into a means to enlightenment.
UKE: Is there a formula to sange? What is it?
BC: I don't think so. People always want to do things right but sange is a much deeper way of
becoming aware of something. I don't men analytically: the attitude is in our hearts. We are
searching for our true self.
DT: I agree. There are no 'set points' for doing sange. Formula simply get in the way of the
Gohonzon. Nichiren Daishonin said that if we do the three practices every day we can change
anything.
UKE: How do we know if we've done sange properly then?
BC: When we feel that we've understood what it is in ourselves that we have to work on or
change and we feel that we can do this.
DT: There are no check-lists for how we feel. We begin to see and feel our Buddha nature, as the
qualities of wisdom, courage and compassion emerge.
BC: Usually, though, we feel relief, because we've acknowledged the obstruction and secondly,
because it's not the overwhelming thing which, before, coloured our whole lives. We see what
keeps us back, and then we see our Buddhahood. Apologizing makes the blockage containable
because we see we are causing obstruction by our own attitude to it. Doing sange allows us to
have compassion for ourselves.
UKE: If we've chosen our karma why do we have to apologize for it?
BC: Because you might not have chosen it consciously, and be aware of the suffering it will
cause you and others. Let's say your karma is always to get very angry. Your life goes in a
certain direction because of it. By performing sange, you wake up to your anger. You wish to
apologize about it, so that your Buddhahood will not be blocked.
In this way, you start to take control of your life, and move it in the direction dictated by
Buddhahood, not anger. Usually, you just slander yourself: 'I'm such a bad and angry person.'
With sange, you have some control and cut through the anger at that moment.
Certain attitudes in life, which we rely on, can be very powerful. If we're in the grip of an
attitude, such as disliking a person, then recognizing this attitude makes us realize we can also be
in control of it, rather than being overpowered or trapped by it.
I think we, who have grown up in the Judeo-Christian traditions, have a deeply ingrained sense
of guilt. Because of this focus on guilt we think of ourselves as being much worse than we are.
We're afraid to really look at our lives (which is really what Buddhism encourages us to do)
because we're afraid of what we'll find. But sange helps us get beyond this guilt (which often
causes self-hatred) and allows us the choice of seeing and believing in our best qualities. Sange
is not a guilt trip, but allows us to free ourselves from guilt, perhaps for the first time. We don't
need guilt to help us regulate our lives because sange and daimoku to the Gohonzon do this. We
can always do sange about feeling guilty if the guilt persists.
UKE: Is there any part of gongyo or daimoku that we should do sange in?
DT: No, I don't think so. Sange involves determined action: it doesn't just mean going back to the
Gohonzon to report our misdeeds or make excuses for them. Rather, we use the action of sange
and then determine not to repeat our slander. The more we practise, the more we are able to feel
benefits of sange. Theory is important, but to have faith and confidence in the Gohonzon leads us
to understand sange in reality.
UKE: If I have just started to practise, how long is it before I can do sange?
DT: As soon as we begin to practise, we are doing sange, because we have made the first cause
(action) to see our Buddhahood. Whether we believe it or not, 'right action leads to right thought'.
We have made a cause to erase and to lessen the effects we would otherwise experience.
For a new member, it is important not to worry about apologizing to Gohonzon. The mere fact
that you have started to chant is, in itself, a form of sange. For people who have been chanting
longer, sange really is for us to show the practice working in our lives.
UKE: I've heard people talk about 'deep' sange. Are there different levels to sange?
DT: No, but we should think about our attitude to chanting. We should not take a careless
attitude in apologizing by saying, for example, 'Oh, Gohonzon, I'm so sorry,' but without really
determining to change totally. We ensure that daimoku goes to the heart of the problem, giving
one hundred per cent.
BC: Nichiren Daishonin teaches that we can change our fate. Doing sange allows us to shape our
lives. It's taking the initiative!
UKE: Thank you.
source: www.geshu.org
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Here is some information on Buddhist Repentance. Sange / Buddhist Apology & Buddhist
Repentance Prayer
I would like to share with the SGI members about my Repentance Prayer that I have been doing
since 1979. Buddhist Repentance play a major role in my daily practice.
Excerpt from The Letter Konichi-bo Gosho
the Daishonin explains the Buddhist principle of repentance, or acknowledging and striving to
correct one’s past misdeeds, by saying, “Even a small error will destine one to the evil paths if
one does not repent of it. Yet even a grave offense can be eradicated if one repents of it
sincerely.”
Excerpt from The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism
Sange also, apology. An act of acknowledging one's faults, shortcomings, or past misdeeds, and
seeking to correct or make amends for them. "If one wishes to carry out repentance, sit upright
and ponder the true aspect. Then the host of sins, like frost or dew, can be wiped out by the sun
of wisdom." In short, since one's wrong acts ultimately stem from ignorance of the true nature of
life, to awaken to that nature, or the true aspect of all phenomena, and bring forth one's inherent
Buddha wisdom, thereby purifying one's life, is the ultimate act of repentance.
Excerpt from The Fourteen Slanders Gosho
 The Fourteen Slanders (1) arrogance, (2) negligence, (3) wrong views of the self, (4) shallow
understanding, (5) attachment to earthly desires, (6) not understanding, (7) not believing, (8)
scowling with knitted brows, (9) harboring doubts, (10) slandering, (11) despising, (12) hating,
(13) envying, and (14) bearing grudges. The first ten of the fourteen slanders concern one’s
attitude and action toward the Law, that is, the Buddha’s teachings. Emphasizing the importance
of unity among believers, the Daishonin says, “Always remember that believers in the Lotus
Sutra should absolutely be the last to abuse one another.” The reason he gives is that “all those
who keep faith in the Lotus Sutra are most certainly Buddhas, and one who slanders a Buddha
commits a grave offense.” In other words, he warns against the last four of the fourteen slanders:
“despising, hating, envying, and bearing grudges against” fellow believer.
Excerpt from the On Prolonging One’s Life Span Gosho
Karma also may be divided into two categories: fixed and unfixed. Sincere repentance will
eradicate even fixed karma, to say nothing of karma that is unfixed.
Buddhist Repentance Prayer
1. Gohonzon I give Appreciation for having met the SGI-USA, Nichiren Buddhism, Gohonzon,
Others, etc.
2. I have Self-reflection regarding all my hurts, frustrations, anger, are my own fault-my karma
and please let me do Hendoku Iyaku (Change my Poison into Medicine).
3. I Apologize for my Slanders, for my Negative words-thoughts-actions and Gohonzon please
let me recognize and want to stop my Wrongdoings.
4. I have Determination to work harder for Kosen Rufu in Creating: Harmonious Family, The
Best Workplace/ Society, and I will support my District activities. I pray to strengthen my Faith,
Practice & Study. I pray to attract and unite with the Best Shakubuku’s who will develop there
faith-practice-study, and let them work for Kosen Rufu. Feel free to comment or ask me a
questions about my Repentance Prayer. (Jonnie Parker)
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2Rajrashmi Bhuyan Paul and Gunjan Kaur Anand

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Rajrashmi Bhuyan Paul

Thank you so much sir.... will make a fresh departure

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