The indo-mon is one of the most important recitations during a funeral in Nichiren Buddhism. It is the scripture that leads the spirit of the deceased to the spiritual realm or the Buddha Land.
Have you ever heard a book called, The Tibetan Books of the Dead? According to the book, Tibetan Buddhist priests read their scriptures in front of a dead body for 49 days before a funeral. During this period, the family of the dead cannot see the body.
The Tibetan priests and I believe there is an intermediate state after one's death until the soul of the dead is reborn in the spiritual world. It is said that this state lasts for 49 days. During this period, the spirit must sufficiently loosen his or her attachment toward earthly matters; otherwise, the spirit will not go to the Buddha Land. In order to avoid that, the Tibetan priests read the scriptures and repeatedly tell the 'soul' that he or she has passed away.
The Indo-mon, which I have read in front of the casket, is the same as that of the Tibetan texts. The difference is that they read the scripture for 49 days whereas I read the Indo-mon only once during the funeral. But every morning during my morning service, I will pray for the spirit of the Late ....(name withheld).... to rest in peace until the 49^th day.
Now, I will explain what I have read in the Indo-mon. First, I requested the appearance of the Eternal Buddha Sakyamuni and Saint Nichiren, the founder of the Nichiren Buddhist Sect. Next, I tell them that the Late ....(name withheld).... has passed away at the age of (age) on (date of death) .
I have given him/her the Buddhist name of (Buddhist name). Then, facing the deceased, I said, "You, (name) , passed away on (date of death) . Now you have departed from your earthly body. Your spirit, which has no material body, is the same as that of the Eternal Buddha. You are going back to your original home of the Eternal Buddha. You must realize that although your physical body is gone, your spirit is alive. I am going to read some scriptures of the Buddha and the words of St. Nichiren, so listen well and think about it deeply." Thus I continued talking to his/her soul. According to the words of St. Nichiren, it is said that there is a river between this world and the spiritual realm, and this scripture called the Lotus Sutra will become a boat for one to cross the river. Or it is said that there is a mountain which the dead has to climb up, and this sutra will be the vehicle to ride into the spiritual realm. Or else, it is said that there is complete darkness, and this sutra will light your path to the Buddha Land. I quoted St. Nichiren's words, "I, Nichiren, shall wait for you at the gate of the spiritual realm."
I continued to talk to him/her after the quotation by saying, "Your children, grand children, great grand children, and relatives, and friends are all here to offer incense and flowers and bid you farewell. Therefore, you must go now to the Buddha Land."

With Gassho,

Kanai Shonin