Such Determination and fun!

I carry on, ever forward with the light of President Ikeda's heart burning in mine. I have so much to accomplish...so many of what other people may call "problems" but I choose to look at as opportunities. I must find a job, find a new place to live where I can continue to hold meetings, and learn for the first time how to support myself.

The field I was most recently in is having a very difficult time in this economy. And I am looking at new and creative ways to make money.

I am coaching people in spiritual weight loss...and considering some other things.

Yesterday I went to the Illinois school of broadcasting and did an audition tape. I am not kidding you when I say they told me it was the best audition tape in 2 and a half years. I thought they were just sweet talking me to get me to go to the school, but they insisted they were being sincere.

How nice!

I love to read out loud. They said I had great articulation and color. Cool. Now I'm going to explore getting funding for this school...and other ways that I can use my voice to do the Buddha's work.

Today I had lunch with my precious adoring and adored friend, and I am basking in the glow...

...and today I've chanted with friends all over the world...in India and in California. The heart goes so easily across the miles...distances are gone.

...Tonight I watched a few episodes of Modern Family with Ben and we howled in laughter. Tomorrow he goes to Illinois for an official visit with a car full of other runner recruits.

Tomorrow I have a full list of fun things to do including two parties!

What a great life I lead. Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!

Faith is LIGHT

Faith is LIGHT.

The hearts of those with strong faith are filled with Light.

A radiance envelops their lives.

People with unshakable conviction in faith

enjoy a happiness that is luminous as the full moon on a dark night,

as dazzling as the sun on a clear day.

Daisaku Ikeda

Quote from Daisaku Ikeda

"The Real Benefit of the Mystic Law is inconspicuous.

Just as trees grow taller and stronger year after year,

adding growth rings

that are imperceptible to the human eye,

we too will grow toward a victorious existence.

For this reason it is important that we lead tenacious and balanced lives based on faith."

From For Today and Tomorrow

Chanting for YOU

Part of my chanting each day is dedicated to you. Yes you!

Even if we don't know each other personally, I can chant for you.

I AM CHANTING FOR YOU.

You can send me comments and questions to help me direct my prayers, and help you to focus yours. Remember that our intention and focus while chanting is very significant.

My prayers are not any better than yours...you are as powerful a Buddha as I am. But prayers from another on your behalf are always good!!

Results, Results, Results~!

Why do people chant?

To get results!

Last night's meeting was filled with the benefits that people are getting from chanting.

We went around the room and here are some of the reports:

One young man in his twenties looked fantastic...he had been chanting about 4 months, and said he'd had quite a week. A barrage of challenges came his way, and he calmly handles all of them! He was so peaceful and serene. he has the peace of mind that so many long for.

One young woman who turned 20 this year has been chanting about 5 months. She talked about how her Mom's company was just sold and her Mom was worried about keeping her job. She's been chanting for her Mom and things are looking good.

One woman has been chanting about 2 weeks, and she said that last night she had sweet dreams instead of nightmares. I can feel her energy rising and the light returning to her face. She's been suffering from sadness, and I can see she is starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. When I started chanting I was very sad. My prayer was "get me out of this! I've been happy before, I can be happy again!" and very quickly I felt a change in my heart...a lightness...a feeling of hope...of rising from the depths! And I saw results all around me...I got a job...I became much more active and I felt excited about my life again.

Another person talked about a near-miss car accident. She was chanting and knows that chanting helped protect her from harm.

I'm personally all excited because a University in California wants to fly Ben out for a visit...and I am very optimistic about my future! I'm exploring ways to publish my book...Chant for Happiness...based on this blog.

Every person at the discussion meeting had a positive story to tell...everyone was glowing...everyone was showing the power of using this magnificent chant to accomplish their goals and create a happy life.

Discussion meetings a fun...short...a great away to connect. They last an hour and a half. For the first half hour you chant. After that there is open discussion, study and sharing. Friends are made. Lives are changed. You can find your nearest SGI discussion meeting by going to sgi-usa.org and calling the center closest to you. There is no cost and all are welcome! My meeting is in Downers Grove Illinois, USA. Every Wednesday. All are welcome!

Ready to start chanting?

Here are a few tips for chanting:

1. Breathe when you need to! Don't skip breathing. Take as long a breath as you need to and hop back into the rhythm of your chant.

2. The words are pronounced

NAHM MEYO HO RAIN GAY KEYO. (all Os are long Os)

When you chant it should be in a steady rhythm like the sound of horses running. You can change pitch occasionally, but it usually works best to stay steady on one pitch for a while.

3. You can just print out the words at first and read them.

4. After a while you can start thinking about what you want in your life...after you get the hang of the chant itself.

5. Go to the Website sgi-usa.org right away and find your local culture center...or call the national center and find someone in your area who chants. SGI Buddhists are everywhere. This person will be so happy you called and will really help you learn to chant.

6. Pick a spot in your house to chant. make it one where you feel really comfortable, and not a place that people will be walking through all the time...unless this is your only option.

7. make your list of what you want to see happen in your life. Date it.

8. Chant at least 5 minutes a day - every morning and afternoon.

9. Go to as many Buddhist meetings as you can.

10. Watch your life fully blossom into the sweetest, most beautiful life you always wanted. Go YOU!

Aah, tis a gift to inspire!

Oh Mannn, I love to inspire people! And I love to inspire people who inspire others, that's for sure. Today was the greatest buddhist Meeting at the Chicago Buddhist Center.

It was a meeting for District Leaders...to learn together and to set the course for the next two years.

I was able to spend a few moments sharing the success of the District that I co-lead here in Downers Grove.

Our success all stems from what we call the Master/Disciple relationship. Anyone can call themselves a Buddhist...but to truly embrace the incredible gold that lies within the master/disciple relationship is a lofty, golden, wonderful opportunity. At all times I ask myself "How would President Ikeda see this situation?"

I chant to see the world through his wise eyes, hear the world through his ears and make decisions based on his wisdom. When I chant for the members in my district, I chant for them to be incredibly happy and for them to know this relationship as well.

I picture President Ikeda as a great spinning motor...he is a normal person with exceptional Ichinen (will put into action). He accomplishes in one day what it takes many weeks to do. I chant to meld my energy with his.

Because of this, our district flourishes. Every member is receiving benefits and growing in faith every day. New members are joining us every month!

On the wall by my altar is a picture of all the members, and I chant for each one, and we all chant for each other.

I begin each meeting greeting every person who comes in...it is a party-like feeling.

We celebrate all of our successes and also mourn our losses together.

I teach Gongyo (the recitation of the Lotus Sutra) by doing what I call Echo Gongyo. It is the same way I taught my kids...similar to the way music can be learned. I say a line in perfect rhythm and with energy...and the group repeats it the same way. When we get to the end of each section we go back and say it all together perfectly! People learn so quickly!

We also take full advantage of all the technical tools at our disposal. I send colorful, bright emails, and we text as often as we like. Some people love texting, others don't. We have incredible growth and happiness in our district. I am always happy to help others learn what we are doing right!

Chanting two hours a day, of course is the key as well!

Aaahh this is a great way to live!

Chanting for all involved

Right now I am focusing my prayers on the lives of all those killed on Saturday, and on the recovery of the injured. I don't know all the details of the people who remain in the hospital, but I am chanting for a complete miracle for Congresswoman Giffords. It's a brain injury...she could have a total recovery. I know it's not expected...but I also know that a lot of people are chanting/praying and wishing her well.

I am picturing her brain and surrounding it with healing energy. I am picturing the area where the shooting took place and surrounding it all with healing energy. Although, as I said, I don't know every detail, I can still send my prayers.

I am chanting for all of us...for the country...to realize we are all Americans. We are all in this together. Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!

The Video I just posted below

Hi everyone.

I just posted my first video on this spiritual blog, because I think it has an important message for all of us in America. It is a message for us all.

I have been chanting for all the families involved in this event...for everyone involved...and for Sara Palin as well. It is time for our country to heed the wise words of this commentator. NONE of us should be speaking in violent rhetoric. He makes so many good points here.

I am always thinking "What would President Ikeda, say, think and do?"

And after chanting about this today, I feel certain that he is chanting for the families involved, the communities involved and for every single American as well.

Peace. Really. And love.

Keith Olbermann Special Comment On Gabrielle Giffords Shooting

A Message for the New Year

I prepared these quotes for the enshrinement ceremony taking place in Ukiah California for my dear friend Julia. She and my friend Danielle sprang like Boddhisatvas out of the earth this fall - both deciding to fully appreciate and embrace this faith...based on seeds I planted when I lived in California over the expanse of many years. When I first shared this practice with them they were not ready to chant...but after seeing the amazing changes and the actual proof within my life...when I visited them this year...they have both been chanting and experiencing huge benefits and changing their suffering into triumphs.

I hope you enjoy these quotes today, January 2nd, 2011.

It is my ichinen for each one of YOU to experience boundless joy from the law this year....and to enter 2012 entirely victorious!!!

President Ikeda quotes previous High Priest Nittatsu :

Wherever the Gohonzon is enshrined, that place, in a broad sense, takes on the significance of the high sanctuary. The sincere daimoku you chant to that Gohonzon with a concentrated mind free of all extraneous thoughts is instantly received by the Dai Gohonzon of the High Sanctuary of True Buddhism. The place where you chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo is instantly transformed into Eagle Peak. And this is where you attain Buddhahood in your present form (November 23, 1977)

A few other really cool quotes:

From My Dear Friends in America, a collection of Daisaku Ikeda's essays in America 1990-1996...just the greatest book - I remember cherishing each of these essays as they came out in the World Tribune...

"Faith is light The hearts of those with strong faith are filled with light. A radiance envelops their lives. People with unshakable conviction in faith enjoy a happiness that is as luminous as the full moon on a dark night, as dazzling as the sun on a clear day."

And you'll love this...from the essay in the same book called "Worshipping the Gohonzon Opens Your Life":

Nichiren Daishonin's basic object of devotion, (the Gohonzon) however, consists of writing, of words. Rather than a graphic image, the Daishonin made the written expression of the world of the intellect - the object of high reverence.

Words are mysterious, they have tremendous power....

When you worship the Gohonzon, the door to your microcosm is opened to the entire universe, the macrocosm, and you experience a great, boundless joy, as if you were looking out over the entire cosmos. You feel great satisfaction and rejoicing, a great wisdom --as if you held the entire universe in your palm. The microcosm enfolded by the macrocosm reaches out to enfold the macrocosm in its own embrace.

Just as we might look down on a bright, clear scene of the world below from a lofty mountain's highest peak, we can climb the peak of the mountain of wisdom (supreme enlightenment). We can attain a state of eternal bliss, experiencing the infinite expanse and depth of life moment after moment, as if we were flying through the universe and gazing at blazing comets, the brilliantly shining Milky Way and all of the beautiful stars.

And one last quote from the incredible essay "Gongyo is a Grand and Noble Rite." in the same book:

"For both the present and the future" is also written on the Gohonzon. For present and future --that is what faith is for. What the Buddhist Law is for. When we worship the Gohonzon, the eternal life of time without beginning wells up within us. Our faith is that every single day, every instant begins from time without beginning.

We are always setting out, full of hope, from today to the future, from this moment to eternal happiness. We are always young, always beginning. My message to you is that you must be absolutely certain of this, and live your wonderful lives without regret, with joy and brightness, always moving forward.

All my love!

Jamie