I am hearing from so many readers! Thank you so much. I love knowing that my words are making a difference. I just finished three hours of Daimoku this morning to be able to reply in this blog with as much wisdom as possible.
First of all, to those of you who written to say that you are upping your daimoku instead of quitting chanting I say BRAVO!!!!If you quit you will never know what a glorious life you can have if you keep chanting. And yes, I know, chanting can make you feel all sorts of emotions that you've been tamping down by various methods. It makes sense doesn't it? Whenever you are really at the brink of changing your life forever... negative forces will rise up to get you to stop. Now, I don't say this to get you scared...it is just a fact of life that when a boat moves quickly the wind resistance increases. It's the same with faith...but the POWER, the real POWER in your life arises when you TURN UP THAT MOTOR and defy that negative wind. Happiness is your birthright. Claim it now. It does not come without struggle. It does not come without struggle. Persevere! As the Gosho says "Suffer what there is to suffer and enjoy what there is to enjoy, and continue chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo no matter what happens." Keep going and don't give up whatever you do!
I was reading Discussions with Youth last night. Check this out.
Daisaku Ikeda states " If the power of your faith and practice is a force of 10,000, then it will elicit that degree of corresponding power." (page 299) So I decided to chant this morning to increase the power of my faith 10,000 times!!! It was wonderful to chant this way. It was so easy to chant for three hours. I chanted for YOUR prayers to increase in power by 10,000 x and for everyone who is chanting to increase their faith by 10,000 x. Why not? ! It felt so good!
He also said, " If you summon your courage to challenge something you'll never be left with regret. How sad it is to spend your life wishing , "If only I'd had a little more courage." Whatever the outcome may be, it is important to take a step forward on the path you believe is right. There is no need to worry about what others may think. Be true to yourself. It's your life after all."
That passage brought tears to my eyes. This morning I was chanting for courage!
I have so many things to share with you. First of all last week my son Aaron was awarded the Campus Community Engagement Award from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana for the leadership program he started at Edison Middle School. The reception was lovely, and Aaron gave a great speech. The mayor and the chancellor were both there to present him his award. He received a beautiful etched glass standing plaque and $1500. He was the only student winner. The coolest thing is that he has also trained his replacement to keep the program running long into the future. That is the sign of a real leader...building things that last.
And yesterday. Aaaahhh yesterday. There was a victory meeting for youth at the Chicago Buddhist Center and Aaron and I went. You might remember that he's a senior in college, and he's known as a fortune baby...meaning a child whose parents chanted for him before he was even born. He has chanted his entire life...and he recently realized that he is his truest, most happiest self when he is chanting.
He stood on the stage in front of hundreds of people and announced that it had taken him 21 years to fully embrace his Buddhist faith. He said he'd been accepted to med school and was going to be devoting the rest of his time at college to helping the youth devision in Champaign.
Is there anything that could possibly make me happier? Isn't that the greatest news? And he's going to Loyola Medical School right here in town, very close by...so he'll be a part of my district and chant with the youth in our district.
How wonderful!
First of all, to those of you who written to say that you are upping your daimoku instead of quitting chanting I say BRAVO!!!!If you quit you will never know what a glorious life you can have if you keep chanting. And yes, I know, chanting can make you feel all sorts of emotions that you've been tamping down by various methods. It makes sense doesn't it? Whenever you are really at the brink of changing your life forever... negative forces will rise up to get you to stop. Now, I don't say this to get you scared...it is just a fact of life that when a boat moves quickly the wind resistance increases. It's the same with faith...but the POWER, the real POWER in your life arises when you TURN UP THAT MOTOR and defy that negative wind. Happiness is your birthright. Claim it now. It does not come without struggle. It does not come without struggle. Persevere! As the Gosho says "Suffer what there is to suffer and enjoy what there is to enjoy, and continue chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo no matter what happens." Keep going and don't give up whatever you do!
I was reading Discussions with Youth last night. Check this out.
Daisaku Ikeda states " If the power of your faith and practice is a force of 10,000, then it will elicit that degree of corresponding power." (page 299) So I decided to chant this morning to increase the power of my faith 10,000 times!!! It was wonderful to chant this way. It was so easy to chant for three hours. I chanted for YOUR prayers to increase in power by 10,000 x and for everyone who is chanting to increase their faith by 10,000 x. Why not? ! It felt so good!
He also said, " If you summon your courage to challenge something you'll never be left with regret. How sad it is to spend your life wishing , "If only I'd had a little more courage." Whatever the outcome may be, it is important to take a step forward on the path you believe is right. There is no need to worry about what others may think. Be true to yourself. It's your life after all."
That passage brought tears to my eyes. This morning I was chanting for courage!
I have so many things to share with you. First of all last week my son Aaron was awarded the Campus Community Engagement Award from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana for the leadership program he started at Edison Middle School. The reception was lovely, and Aaron gave a great speech. The mayor and the chancellor were both there to present him his award. He received a beautiful etched glass standing plaque and $1500. He was the only student winner. The coolest thing is that he has also trained his replacement to keep the program running long into the future. That is the sign of a real leader...building things that last.
And yesterday. Aaaahhh yesterday. There was a victory meeting for youth at the Chicago Buddhist Center and Aaron and I went. You might remember that he's a senior in college, and he's known as a fortune baby...meaning a child whose parents chanted for him before he was even born. He has chanted his entire life...and he recently realized that he is his truest, most happiest self when he is chanting.
He stood on the stage in front of hundreds of people and announced that it had taken him 21 years to fully embrace his Buddhist faith. He said he'd been accepted to med school and was going to be devoting the rest of his time at college to helping the youth devision in Champaign.
Is there anything that could possibly make me happier? Isn't that the greatest news? And he's going to Loyola Medical School right here in town, very close by...so he'll be a part of my district and chant with the youth in our district.
How wonderful!
