Happy New Year!
What a great opportunity to change our lives.
On New Years we celebrate with "Hon Nim Myo" spirit. "Hon Nim Myo" means "from this moment forth." This moment is the only moment that counts. Anything we did in the past, and anything we WILL do in the future mean nothing next to "Hon Nim Myo." We can access the power of this exact moment. You have it. I have it. We all access it any time we chant.
There is a Gosho called "The New Year's Gosho written by Nichiren Daishonin. I quote from the Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume One, 1985.
"A person who celebrates this day will gain virtue and be loved by all, just as the moon becomes full gradually, moving from west to east, and the sun shines more brightly traveling from west to east.
First of all, as to the question of where exactly hell and the Buddha exist, one sutra states that hell exists underground and another sutra states that the Buddha is in the west. However closer examination reveals that both exist on our five-foot body. The reason I think so is that hell is in the heart of of a man who despises his father and disregards his mother, just like the lotus seed, which contains both flower and fruit at the same time. In the same way, the Buddha dwells inside our hearts. For example, flint can produce fire and gems possess value in themselves. We common mortals can see neither our eyebrows, which are so close, nor heaven in the distance. Likewise, we do not see that the Buddha exists in our own hearts."
Many years ago, 1987 to be exact, I attended a Gosho lecture by a brilliant SGI leader called Pete Cranock. Here's what he told us that touched my heart:
He said that if making up our minds could have changed our lives, it would have already changed them. In many cases we can't make things happen by changing our minds alone because there is karma. Karma is created by lifetimes of causes we have made, and causes we are still making. Every thought, every action is a cause. These causes create momentum that make it hard to reverse the motion of our lives. Our habits are hard to change. That is why we practice Buddhism. We chant to change the momentum of our habits, and we chant to make the changes that we haven't been able to make by changing our minds alone. That is why we chant.
By chanting we access the power to change our karma. And we CAN do it. Starting right now. We don't have to wait. He said that our prayer on New Year's Day is deeper because we make it so. We can use the momentum of New Year's Day to deepen our prayer and really CHANGE what we want to change. Now is the time to take the opportunity. He said it is good to plan out our prayer for New year's Day. It's good to make our lists and take a long, hard look at our lives. We all know that sometimes looking at our lives is painful. But we have the greatest tool, chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, and we have the Gosho and Daisaku Ikeda and our friends in the SGI to support us.
He said:
"If you feel stale, chant for the type of actual proof that will really help you to be excited abou this practice."
He stressed that knowledge about Buddhism isn't enough. Yes, we all KNOW that Buddhahood is within our lives, but it is only through daily concentrated practice that we can actually experience this state of life within ourselves.
It is difficult to chant. It is difficult to chant every day.
We might as well have the attitude "I am going to make the most of this practice. I am going to give it all I've got." You have to jump in all the way if you want the best results. Practicing with enthusiasm is important. Think of it like ringing the bell. If you ring the bell softly you will get a soft sound. If you ring it with harder with conviction you can feel its sound echoing through your body. Chant to ring the bell with conviction.
When you go to an activity, think "I am here to get the MOST out of this activity." You gain benefit when you are doing something with joy.
Refresh our practice. Deepen our sincerity and live lives of joy and appreciation.
And as I always say: "Tell your life what you want. Do not pray to anyone or anything - except your life itself.
Happy, Happy New Year. May this be the year that we ALL make our dreams come true, and show our friends and families the way to happiness.
