Notes from Paradise - Our Own Human Revolution Changes the World

From my apartment in the early morning sun

Hello, here we are at the brink of August. I'm celebrating being in my new apartment in Florida for one month, seven years of this blog, and the anniversary of Daisaku Ikeda meeting Josei Toda and finding his new mentor and philosophy of life.

Lately, every time I read the poem Daisaku Ikeda composed and recited to Josei Toda at his first meeting, it brings tears to my eyes:

"Traveler,
From whence do you come?
And where are you going?
The moon has set.
But the sun has not yet risen.
In the chaos of darkness before the dawn
seeking the light,
I advance
To dispel the dark clouds from my mind
To find a great tree unbowed by the tempest
I emerge from the earth."

August 2016, Living Buddhism, cover

I imagine this scene over and over in my mind. I take it to be a meeting of two joined hearts...a re-meeting of hearts...as if they had always known each other, and reencountered each other at this meeting.

The words of the poem strike me in so many ways. Remember the time? 
Japan was still in ruins...people were wondering what kind of hope to have...and in whom to believe. 
"The moon has set."
The war is over...
"but the sun has not yet risen". 
What will the future hold? 

We can all relate to this in different ways. 
In my life, the moon has set. I have begun my new life without my son, and I have moved 1200 miles away from my friends and family...
"But the sun has not yet risen"
....I am rebuilding my life...making new friends...finding my way in a new land, a new paradise. Last night, and many nights, I walk along the beach and marvel at the incredibly beautiful sky. And I see lovers of all ages, and families with little sweet boys playing together...and I think "Keep smiling Jamie you are building your future...you just got here less than a month ago!"

And I set my own sights on my mentor in faith Daisaku Ikeda. He is a man of peace...a man of prayer...a man of action. Every day I chant to see the world through his eyes...to have wisdom...to have creativity and drive to do shakubuku! (I have someone set to get the Gohonzon next weekend...and am chanting for her every day. I'll let you know more next week.) And I chant and strive to see that my life has meaning...that all of our lives have meaning. We have the most profound philosophy. Are we living in a way that lights the way for others...
We are continually striving!  

And we are all living in this in-between time in America. We are seeing the potential rise of fascism...one man...one self-centered egomaniac who wants to command all...and many of us are concerned. I have been chanting ceaselessly for kosen-rufu to come through my own life...my own life!

And doing shakubuku has never been more important. 
As each new person gives rise to human revolution within their life...we change ALL of life. 

Let's all keep chanting and bringing forth the power of the universe from within our lives! 

Notes from Paradise - Our Own Human Revolution Changes the World

From my apartment in the early morning sun

Hello, here we are at the brink of August. I'm celebrating being in my new apartment in Florida for one month, seven years of this blog, and the anniversary of Daisaku Ikeda meeting Josei Toda and finding his new mentor and philosophy of life.

Lately, every time I read the poem Daisaku Ikeda composed and recited to Josei Toda at his first meeting, it brings tears to my eyes:

"Traveler,
From whence do you come?
And where are you going?
The moon has set.
But the sun has not yet risen.
In the chaos of darkness before the dawn
seeking the light,
I advance
To dispel the dark clouds from my mind
To find a great tree unbowed by the tempest
I emerge from the earth."

August 2016, Living Buddhism, cover

I imagine this scene over and over in my mind. I take it to be a meeting of two joined hearts...a re-meeting of hearts...as if they had always known each other, and reencountered each other at this meeting.

The words of the poem strike me in so many ways. Remember the time? 
Japan was still in ruins...people were wondering what kind of hope to have...and in whom to believe. 
"The moon has set."
The war is over...
"but the sun has not yet risen". 
What will the future hold? 

We can all relate to this in different ways. 
In my life, the moon has set. I have begun my new life without my son, and I have moved 1200 miles away from my friends and family...
"But the sun has not yet risen"
....I am rebuilding my life...making new friends...finding my way in a new land, a new paradise. Last night, and many nights, I walk along the beach and marvel at the incredibly beautiful sky. And I see lovers of all ages, and families with little sweet boys playing together...and I think "Keep smiling Jamie you are building your future...you just got here less than a month ago!"

And I set my own sights on my mentor in faith Daisaku Ikeda. He is a man of peace...a man of prayer...a man of action. Every day I chant to see the world through his eyes...to have wisdom...to have creativity and drive to do shakubuku! (I have someone set to get the Gohonzon next weekend...and am chanting for her every day. I'll let you know more next week.) And I chant and strive to see that my life has meaning...that all of our lives have meaning. We have the most profound philosophy. Are we living in a way that lights the way for others...
We are continually striving!  

And we are all living in this in-between time in America. We are seeing the potential rise of fascism...one man...one self-centered egomaniac who wants to command all...and many of us are concerned. I have been chanting ceaselessly for kosen-rufu to come through my own life...my own life!

And doing shakubuku has never been more important. 
As each new person gives rise to human revolution within their life...we change ALL of life. 

Let's all keep chanting and bringing forth the power of the universe from within our lives! 

How to Have a More Power-Full Gongyo and Power-Full Day!

How do we have Power-FULL Daimoku? 

I'm having a blast here in Florida. This place is all I ever longed for and MORE. I'm headed to my first planning meeting right now...Nam-myoho-renge-kyo! 

Every day is a new challenge. 
Every day we wake into our glorious lives, that sometimes don't feel so glorious. 
Every day we have the chance to begin anew. 
Every morning, 
every moment 
is "Hon-nim-myo" ~ 
from this moment forth. 

This blog is for you. I do not express the official voice of the SGI, only the official voice of this one practitioner, myself, who longs for the happiness of all people! 

Fresh Determination
for a Power-FULL Happy Day!
By Jamie Lee Silver from Chantforhappiness.com

Life!
Today I embrace you at every moment
The wisdom I am creating, right now, 
through every Nam-myoho-renge-kyo I chant
pours through me every moment this day. 
Every moment is in rhythm
Every moment I am in exactly the right place 
at the right time
Seeing through the eyes of the Buddha I AM! 
I make a difference in every life I touch

The right words come at the right time. 
My warm heart shines
My confidence shines
I feel the love of those around me
I feel my love for myself, for my warm and wonderful self! 
I create an environment that appreciates me 
as I appreciate it! 
My brilliant future is assured
without me having to worry about it or strategize. 
I fuse my life force with Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and the spirit of my mentor Daisaku Ikeda. 
Together I renew my vow to change myself first, so that this will become a peaceful, respectful world! 

I am creating my future as I lovingly love my present! 
Here are some goals I am visualizing: 
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Gohonzon!
Life!
Some kind of way 
I am showing proof of this marvelous practice 
at every moment! 
Some kind of way 
the people I am chanting for 
will be happy and healthy!
I chant for ___________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
their health and happiness and stability! 
their ability to tap into their practice and get results!
their strong life force!
their mission for kosen-rufu! 
For ______________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
to be inspired and come to the meeting! 

This is a great day!

PowerPrayer to Change Your Karma Right Here, Right Now!

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo! 
Translation: I fuse my life with the Mystic Law of Cause and effect 
through sound vibration! 

(You can now subscribe to this blog by putting your name in the box to the right)

Sometimes we have to get mad when we chant! 

Lions ROAR! Lions ROAR! 

When we chant 
we are chanting 
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo 
to our own life, 
and sometimes we chant with this thought:

 "Life! Enough is enough! I am changing this karma NOW."

Some of you have written me that you are feeling hopeless and controlled by others. Chant and take action!

RISE UP to your life while chanting and DEMAND results now. We chant for the wisdom to take the correct action...and the courage to take it! 

We are all noble Boddhisatvas of the earth. 

In The Heart of the Lotus Sutra, Daisaku Ikeda writes:

"When we do gongyo "we are in effect vowing to advance kosen-rufu (a world of respect for all life) in accord with the spirit of the original Buddha. Every day we pledge to the Daishonin, "Without fail, I will believe in and spread the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin and help lead all people to enlightenment." 
page 150

And to fulfill this vow, we have to win in our lives. 
  
Each of us has some negative tendency that happens over and over, don't we? For me, I struggled for years with a feeling that would just overcome me, and wash over me like a wave. Out of nowhere I would feel unloved, unlovable and hopeless. I'd call my friend-in-faith Kate, and she'd remind me that this feeling was a function of the fundamental darkness within my life and within all of life, and this was AGAIN my time to summon up the power of my faith. 

That's why I say 
BE FUELED BY YOUR OBSTACLES, 
not FOOLED BY THEM! 

"Get MAD at the shoten zenjin!" Kate would say. 
(Shoten Zenjin are the protective forces that counterbalance fundamental darkness. We use our practice to increase the shoten zenjin and banish fundamental darkness.) 
And I would generate some angry energy, roar like a lion and use this PowerPrayer inspired by Kate - it totally changed my life:

PowerPrayer to say, 

"No More! Enough is enough!”
I change this negative function NOW! 
By Jamie Lee Silver from ChantforHappiness.com

I am chanting with 

absolute conviction in the power of my life to declare and demand:

No more of this karma of : ____________________________(the basic life tendency you want to change)

I root this karma out of my life with every Nam-myoho-renge-kyo I chant! 

No more of this karma 

of being abused or disrespected by anyone or any thing!

No more doubting my own Buddha Nature!

No more living in fear!

No more feeling unloved or hopeless.

No more ________________ (you fill in the blank.)

I now create _________________________________in my life starting now.

I don't CARE how many times I have to chant about this. I don't CARE how many times you try to bring me down. 

I will win! 

I MUST Win because I am a votary of the Lotus Sutra. I am living my life to prove that chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo works and to help others become happy. 

I will win!!!

I am the Buddha.

I am roaring with power in my life!

I now determine with all the power vested in me that I will___________________________.

The wisdom to take the actions to create this breakthrough comes to me now!

Here are the actions I will take today:_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

When we Win - Everyone Wins!

My first meeting in the St. Pete/Tampa Cultural Center

With new friends Candida Silva and Alisa Miller

Today was a significant anniversary - July 12th last year many of you joined me as I web broadcasted Ben's Life Ceremony. 

Today I celebrated the year anniversary by bringing three youth division guests at my first SGI meeting in Florida. I'm sure Ben had a hand in this! 

(In case you are new to this blog, my son, my Bodhisattva Ben, "became eternal" at the age of 22 after suffering with schizophrenia for 2 1/2 years on July 2nd, 2015. His life ceremony was a year ago today.)

Tonight's SGI meeting was a Gosho lecture on 

"On Persecutions Befalling the Sage." 

"When people with an awareness

of their mission for kosen-rufu stand up, 

and the philosophy of respect for life 

based on the Mystic Law 

is transmitted from the people to the people 

and deeply absorbed into their lives, 

then society and the times 

will be transformed on a fundamental level.

The expansion of our Soka network 

is the surest step forward in building peace. 

The sun of the Buddhism of the people is rising now, 

shining ever more brightly as a source of hope. 

Let us set forth toward a golden age 

of victory for humanity! 

The time has come to commence the real struggle 

of genuine disciples" 

Daisaku Ikeda, World Tribune, July 2016, page 49. 

Here is the fundamental message. We must all become happy so we can lead others to happiness! America needs this. The world needs this. Our missions have never been deeper, have they? And our "persecutions," our problems - FUEL this change, FUEL our lives when we embrace our challenges, chant to use them as springboards for our lives, and do shakubuku so others can be happy.

Let's do this together. It's pretty simple. We can chant more. (I'm chanting 3 hours a day this week to kick off my new life in Florida) We can wake up earlier. We do this for ourselves and for others. 

When we overcome our own fundamental darkness we overcome the world's fundamental darkness. THIS is the essence of Human Revolution. When we win over ourselves we bring the light of wisdom to the world. Yes!  

I really enjoyed meeting the members. 

Candida Silva recognized my name and blog from her time chanting in the UK. 

Here's a shout out to my friends in the UK! 

Also, the young man who chanted with Aaron while he was away at college and studying for his medical school entrance exams is also in my new chapter. Our connections run deep...all of us Buddhas. All of us are Bodhisattvas of the earth and deeply connected. 

Now is our time! When we win  - everyone wins! 

Prayer is the Way to Destroy All Fear!

"Prayer is the way to destroy all fear. 
It is the way to banish sorrow, 
the way to light a torch of hope. 
It is the revolution 
that rewrites the scenario of our destiny."

Daisaku Ikeda, December 3, 2004 World Tribune, Page 8
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo! 
Here I am on St. Pete Beach in Florida waking up to the sound of the waves every single day! 
This week I am chanting three hours a day towards every door opening in my life...

And look at all the doors that have opened so far. 

My two closest SGI friends came over to chant with me on Saturday morning and I'm going to the study meeting tomorrow night. Everything is so exciting, and I am keeping the fear at bay by chanting enough daimoku to feel as if I am riding on a pillow of daimoku. My life is working out perfectly. Over the past few days I've been facing the anniversaries of Ben's becoming eternal, and all the events surrounding that. And I am sailing through it all...every once in a while the sweetness of the life we had will bring tears to my eyes, and I just take a few moments to cry...write...chant, and move on. 

My life right now is just so exciting. I'm exploring the nooks and crannies of the beach, of St. Petersburg, of this area. I've already made a bunch of friends and look forward to making more. I've watched every sunset. And I'm walking miles and miles each day and falling back in love with being in this body. The last few years were difficult. Now is my time! 

I'm chanting:

Gohonzon! Life!
Bring all the energy of the universe through me right now! 
I chant to banish all dark energy and fill every cell in my body with Bonten, Taishaku and Hachiman...and the gods of the sun and the moon...and for all SGI members (and everyone in the world) to be filled with positive energy. I'm chanting to radiate forth all the love and peace and good will this world so badly needs, and to attract all good positive opportunities my way!

I'm chanting for you to realize this power in your lives too! 

Lighting the Lamp of Hope - From Florida!

The view from my new apartment ~ Yes! 

"Live in a way that is full of life ~ 
for yourself, 
for your loved ones, 
for your friends. 
People who do so 
will find the courage 
to transform sufferings into hopes. 
Not only that, 
but they will be able to light the lamp of hope 
in the hearts of many others as well."

Daisaku Ikeda, Buddhism Day by Day, page 304.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I did it! Great victory! After having the worst possible fate befall a Mom, I have turned poison into medicine through my determination to pave the way of hope for others, and the courage generated from this incredible Buddhist practice. 

As many of you know, last year, on July 2nd, my beloved son Ben became eternal at the age of 22. Yes, he took his own life, but schizophrenia, a disease of the brain with no cure, (along with a flawed mental health system), is the real cause. I feel it's important to tell the truth about this. I know I am not the only one who has been through this kind of suffering. 

Through my tears and sorrow, I determined that, as a 31 year practicing Buddhist, I had the opportunity to create the greatest benefit from the greatest poison. And right now I have some solid results to show from this determination. 

On July 2nd of this year, the anniversary of Ben's becoming eternal, I was chanting in my new apartment right on the beach in St. Pete Beach Florida. 

And Ben's Memorial Mile, the fun and inspiring event we staged in Downers Grove Illinois on June 11th raised $22,000 for schizophrenia research (less expenses). 

There is victory all around in my life! 

But I can't bask in it forever, I must move forth and create more and more value every moment through this experience and through my life itself. 

I produced a Ben's Memorial Mile edition of the book Ben and I are currently writing together through my own pen and the eternity of his life. "Our Forever Ben."

At Ben's Memorial Mile we raised $1,100 through the sale of less than 20 of these editions. As soon as I can, I will make this available to you. (Affordably)

But first, how did I accomplish this? I chanted to create value and show actual proof THROUGH this sad experience, not in spite of it. Those of you who've been reading this blog for a while know this. And you know I'm not some super human. I am very human...and devoted to showing proof of this practice through my life.  Sure, I cried a lot during this year. Sure, my heart actually broke with missing my sweet poetic, sincere, loving son. And every morning and evening I devoted my life to chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the essence of life itself...the vibration of perfect healing for all involved. 

This prayer is powerful. So powerful. It has the capacity to change our own lives from the inside out. And when WE change, our environments change. So I chanted with determination to show brilliant actual proof by the year anniversary. 

All my life I have lived in colder climates...Chicago, Des Moines, San Francisco (BRRRR). Never have I lived in a climate that suits my sun-seeking, heat-seeking self. So in February I traveled to Florida where my wonderful nephew had moved. 

The week I got back I spent three hours a day chanting for every door to open to move to his area of Florida - St. Petersburg. I chanted for every door to open. And I held my breath as I gave a 60 day notice on my apartment which had served me so well for 5 years. 

Mystically, my step-mother told me her cousin lived somewhere in the area. She connected us and I discovered her cousin lived exactly in the most historic building on the beach. And her cousin, such a lovely woman, connected me to a family with an extra empty apartment who usually does not rent it except while they are there...in the winter. This couple made a special trip by train - over 30 hours - to open this apartment and get it ready for me...right here on the beach. They have been so welcoming and sweet. Yesterday they bought a new TV for the apartment so I can watch my DVDs.

And, as I've written previously, my friend Tracy said "I'm Your Girl!" and helped me to find new homes for almost all my belongings, except the ones that could fit in, or on, my car. She drove here with me and just left yesterday after having a great time exploring my beach home with me. 

AND, on the day I actually moved, my friend Neha delivered my package to President Ikeda at the Hall of the Great Vow. It contains "Our Forever Ben," a letter, and the articles and results from Ben's Memorial Mile. 

What will life hold now? We shall see together! Thank you for sharing this journey with me!