The Power of Each Character of Gongyo!

(Subscribe to this blog by putting your email address into the box to the right)

This month's Gosho study from Living Buddhism is on "Letter to Horen." In it, the Daishonin describes the characters of the Lotus Sutra as individual Buddhas emitting beams of light...able to find all those, living and dead, with whom we are connected. 
Wow.
What a great thing to learn about while we are all striving to perfect our Gongyo and deepen our faith. 

Daisaku Ikeda states in Living Buddhism, 
June 2015, page 32:

"...Through chanting the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, we can transmit benefit even to deceased family members, relatives, friends or acquaintances who may have opposed our Buddhist practice - benefit that will warmly embrace them and lead them to a state of profound peace and comfort.

Similarly, through the power of the Mystic Law, our family members and friends who have passed away in the course of the journey for kosen-rufu - whether from illness or as a result of unexpected accidents or natural disasters - will also be able to enter the path of Buddhahood. 

The best offering we can make for the eternal happiness of the departed is to live fully and strive vibrantly for kosen-rufu in their stead..."

"The Daishonin says that 
each of the 510 characters 
of the verse section 
of the "Life Span" chapter 
of the Lotus Sutra, 
from "ji ga toku burrai" 
(Since I attained Buddhahood) (LSOC, 270) 
to "soku joju busshin" 
(quickly acquire the body of the Buddha) (LSOC, 273), changes into a sun 
and then into a Buddha. 
It emits great beams of light 
that pervade every corner of the universe, 
finding Kyoshin's father wherever he might be 
and illuminating him 
(see WND-I, 517-18).
In other words, 
each chapter 
of the verse section of the "LifeSpan" chapter 
recited by Kyoshin 
becomes the Buddha, 
shining with the brilliant light of compassion 
that reaches his deceased father
in whatever state of being he may reside, 
relieving him of his suffering 
and guiding him to enlightenment."

I had this in mind during Gongyo over the last few days. 
What a wonderful life-giving practice we have!

Sensei's Guidance on thoughts while chanting

(From the Facebook page, 
The Power of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, 
quoting from the Wisdom of The Lotus Sutra)

In this Q & A, President Ikeda clarifies and explains on extraneous thoughts that come to our mind while chanting :

Endo: With regard to prayer, people frequently bring up the problem of extraneous thoughts occurring to them while they are chanting.

President Ikeda: 
There is nothing wrong with having an active mind while chanting. 
This is a natural human tendency. 

The important thing is to face the Gohonzon just as we are, 
without affectation. 
Having extraneous thoughts is an inherent part of our lives 
in that we are entities of the principle of three thousand realms in a single moment of life. 
Therefore, through daimoku we can turn even those thoughts into benefit.

There are no rules governing how we should pray. 
There’s no need to be something we aren’t. 
Even if we were to try to control our thoughts 
by making our prayer rigid and forced, 
our minds would still tend to wander. 
As we deepen our faith, we also strengthen our ability to concentrate.

Actually, since the thoughts or ideas that come to mind as we chant r
epresent issues that concern us at the moment, 
we should not consider them extraneous. 
Instead, we should pray earnestly about each one, 
whatever it may be. 
Rather than chant only about large issues, 
we should pray specifically about every issue we face, 
winning over each one and strengthening our foundation as we go.
There is of course no need to be tense or nervous when praying. What matters is that we are completely ourselves.

(The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, Vol. VI pp. 108-09)