Win by the End of the Year!

I love the quote above. I resolve to be victorious! 

Let's all resolve, 
deeply resolve, 
to be victorious by the end of the year! 

I resolve: 

I resolve to report Ben's incredible health improvement. 
I resolve to report growth in my business...certainty, happiness, appreciation! 
I resolve to report victory for my family members, for my son Aaron, for my sister, for us all. 
I resolve to feel great and usher in the new year more healthy, more happy than ever before. 
I resolve to walk or dance for 20 minutes every day.
I resolve to overcome my weaknesses...to identify them, chant about them and overcome them one by one! 
I resolve to increase follow through in all areas of my life. 
I resolve to be fear-less, clear and determined. 
I resolve to have a clear list of goals and outcomes for the new year written by January 1st or earlier. 
I resolve to make this list fun, exciting and invigorating! 
I resolve to continue doing shakubuku every day!
I resolve to chant a minimum of one hour every day and more whenever I can. 
I resolve to chant three hours every weekend. 
I resolve to show actual proof though my life every single day no matter what!

What do you resolve? 
What victory do you want to report by the end of the year? 

9 ways to Jump Start Your New Buddhist Practice!

Whether you are new to chanting, or revitalizing your practice - this blog is for you. You can use the points you like, and share the others with someone brand new to chanting. 

It is true that: 
By chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo you can transform all of your sufferings into benefit, and crystalize every desire into a blooming flower in our lives. You can become happier than you ever imagined...happier, more resourceful and more couraBygeous in taking action. 

AND, you will make a difference in the lives of all you touch.  

We can change anything through chanting because we tap into our inner realm of unlimited possibility when we chant. You are a Buddha of infinite potential! 

When we chant the Mystic law we see changes in our life - whether we believe they will happen or not. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo means "I fuse my life with the mystic law of cause and effect through sound vibration" or, as some say "I tune my life to the rhythm of all life." Saying these words is a great cause that breaks through all suffering and creates a life of happiness. It works! 

"Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is like the roar of a Lion." What sickness could therefore be an obstacle? 
Nichiren Daishonin 

9 Ways to Jump Start Your New Buddhist Practice!
By Jamie Lee Silver from Chantforhappiness.com

1. Make a list of what you really want in life. Take a fresh look at your desires and write them down.  Dream big. What do you really want? What do you want for yourself? What do you want for others? What do you want for the world? Make a list. Write it down and put the date on it. 

Many people began chanting with desires that later transformed into other desires. So don't worry about whether your desires are "right" desires to have. Chanting is progressive, both you and your desires will evolve. I know people who began a very rewarding practice chanting for things that were important at the time, but later changed into other desires. 

One of my friends chanted for a month to prove to his wife that this practice doesn't work. Well, he found out it DID work and more than 40 years later he is still practicing. In Nichiren Buddhism your desires ARE enlightenment. It is okay to desire whatever you desire, whether it's money, the happiness of someone else, a relationship, a job, or peace of mind and contentment. With continued practice you will see that your dreams for yourself actually become tied to the dreams of happiness for all. 

Chant for what is really in your heart. 

2. This is a great time to start a Journal.  It's not essential, but I think it's a great idea. Writing in a journal helps you become aware of your progress and benefits.

3. Revitalize your altar if you have one. Make it clean, shiny, uncluttered and make sure there's fresh fruit on it! 

If you are new to chanting: 
Choose a place to chant comfortably. Find your "home" with your home, where you can feel comfortable chanting out loud, having a dialogue with your life itself.  Sit comfortably. (Did I say this enough times?! ~ I like to be comfortable!)

4. If you are creating your sacred space choose a focus point on the wall. Some people start by facing a blank wall; I chanted to a moon in a picture. Choose a focal point slightly above eye level. 

5. You may wish to have a small table nearby for tea or your journal. 

6. Write the words Nam Myoho Renge Kyo 
on a piece of paper. 

The words are pronounced as follows: 

Nam ~    Nahm, rhymes with Mom, 
Myoho ~ meeyohoh,  
Renge ~  rain gay, 
Kyo ~     kee oh. 
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. 
Nahm Meeyohoh Rain Gay Kee Oh
(Phonetic spelling) 

7. Begin to chant. Hold your hands with the palms facing in and touching each other in front of your heart. And say Nam-myoho-renge-kyo over and over and over again with your eyes OPEN looking at the wall. 

8. At first, you will probably only be able to concentrate on the words themselves, and that's fine.  Once you've got the chant down you can think about what you want and chant at the same time. 

9. Join fellow practitioners as soon as you can. The SGI Portal to the right will help you locate a center near you, and you can call that center to connect to your local meeting house. 

Chant twice a day every day. Get in rhythm! Establishing a twice a day rhythm to your chanting is important. It gets the wheels of your life moving. 

Keep your goals in mind and you’ll remember your reasons for chanting! 

These words and this vibration go deep into the heart of your life itself. They summon forth your highest wisdom, vitality and sense of purpose. They also uproot the karma that is making you suffer, and give you the opportunity to change this karma forever. 

When you chant you are entering into a dialogue with your life itself. You are not chanting to any god or asking for favors. Instead, you are connecting with the rhythm of the universe itself. 

As Nichiren Daishonin says in the famous writing (Gosho) "On Attaining Buddhahood" :

"If you wish to free yourself from the sufferings of birth and death you have endured since time beginning and to attain without fail unsurpassed enlightenment in this lifetime, you must perceive the mystic truth that is originally inherent in all living beings. This truth is Myoho-renge-kyo. Chanting Myoho-renge-kyo will therefore enable you to grasp the mystic truth innate in all life...It is called the mystic truth because it explains the mutually inclusive relationship of life and all phenomena. 
"Life at each moment encompasses the body and mind and the self and environment of all sentient beings in the ten worlds, as well as all insentient beings in the three thousand realms, including plants, sky and earth, and even the most minute particles of dust. Life at each moment permeates the universe and is revealed in all phenomena. One awakened to this principle himself embodies this relationship. However, even though you chant and believe in Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, if you think the Law is outside yourself, you are embracing not the mystic law but some inferior teaching."
From Lectures on Attaining Buddhahood in this Lifetime by Daisaku Ikeda, 2007  

PowerPrayer for a Harmonious Family

PowerPrayer for a harmonious Family
By JamieLee Silver

As Nichiren Buddhists, we know that wars begin and end within our own hearts. and I know from personal experience that we sometimes turn against the ones we love when we are really stressed and challenged. But we know, we really know, that the answer lies in our determination to create a harmonious family, and to change our own, and our family's karma with our determined Daimoku. (Chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo). 

Daisaku Ikeda states: 

A person who respects others is respected by others in return. Those who treat others with compassion and concern are protected and supported by others. Our environment is essentially a reflection of ourselves.
From Ikedaquotes.org

Daimoku can change ANYTHING. It can change inharmonious relationships, and give us the courage and wisdom we need to make changes in our lives. 

With that in mind, I offer you the PowerPrayer for a Harmonious Family. Usually we read PowerPrayers before chanting so that we can keep our determinations and prayers fresh in our minds while sonorously chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the title of the Lotus Sutra and the name of the rhythm of life itself. Chanting allows us to tap into the vast resources our lives already possess, raise our life conditions and become absolutely happy...possessing the type of happiness that is not swayed by daily changes in our lives.  Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the most powerful cause we can make for our lives. 

That's it! 

Please do not copy and past the PowerPrayer. You can share it by emailing the url chantforhappiness.com or using the sharing buttons at the bottom of the post. Thanks! 

PowerPrayer for a Harmonious Family
by Jamie Lee Silver, chantforhappiness.com

Life!

I am Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!

I have the power to chant happiness and harmony for my whole family

With every daimoku I am picturing us happy

I am erasing years of karma with every Nam-myoho-renge-kyo

With every Daimoku I am summoning appreciation for my loved ones. I appreciate them more and more. 

For every fault, sickness, sadness, problem I see in my family ~

I chant to change this in MYSELF so that the karma of the whole family is changed! 

I am chanting happiness and harmony into my family

My prayer is enough!

I will not give up

I am tearing every bit of karma that makes any of my family members suffer - I am tearing that karma out by the roots. 

My family will never be the same. 

I will not give up!

I will have a happy family that will shine as a beacon of hope to all who are suffering. 

My chanting gives me the wisdom to communicate with composure and compassion. 

I am the Buddha!

I chant specifically for these outcomes:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4 Secrets for Strengthening Your Muscle of Appreciation

A reader requested I write a blog giving tips for generating more gratitude and appreciation in her life. 

Daisaku Ikeda writes in Faith into Action, page 7 (under Appreciation)
"To "enjoy what there is to enjoy" means to cause the "mystic lotus of the heart" to blossom brightly with a sense of appreciation and joy. Someone who can find joy, who can feel appreciation, experiences a snowballing exhilaration and joy in life. Such is the heart's function."

So here you go. Thanks so much for writing in! 

4 Secrets for Strengthening 

Your Muscle of Appreciation! 

By Jamie Lee Silver of ChantforHappiness.com

Gratitude is attitude. It starts with YOU. It is a muscle you can build. And once you build it....ahhh the benefits that begin to flow! 

Tip #1
Before you get out of bed think about ten things you are grateful for that very day. They can be ANYTHING. You can be grateful for sight, hearing, feeling. You can be grateful to be alive...grateful to have woken up! Lie there and think of ten things. I've mentioned before that when my Mom was feeling depressed I gave her this tip and everyday after that she did this, and her depression lifted. She always told me it was this one action that changed her life. 

Tip #2
SMILE! 
Smiling is a cause not an affect. 
The more you smile, 
the more reasons you will have to smile!
Make your smile light your day. 

I like to think of the song by Carol King:

You've got to get up every morning

And show the world

All the love in your heart!

When you smile you physically create a happiness hormone in your body. There have been studies done recently about this. Also, when you smile at another person, they automatically feel better...their brain registers happiness even if they do not smile back at you. Isn't that cool? Smile! 

Tip #3
Write a Rampage of Appreciation
Take a notebook and put titles as the top of each page. Titles could be:
My body
My work
My relationship with _______
My parents
My children
My home
My car
My self
My practice
My________
...and on an on...you get the idea. 

Then list all the things you ARE grateful for under each heading...or all the things you COULD BE grateful for. 

I promise you that you will feel happier after doing this! 

4. Chant in Gratitude
While chanting  ~ generate these feelings of gratitude and happiness. Your gratitude will amplify and spread.

What do you do to build the muscle of appreciation into your life? Write me at chantforhappiness@gmail.com

What does Nam myoho renge kyo mean and why do we chant it?

What does Nam-myoho-renge-kyo mean, 

and why do we chant it? 

By Jamie Lee Silver of ChantforHappiness.com

The literal translation is:

"I fuse my life 

with the mystic law of cause and effect 

through sound vibration." 

It is the title of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha's highest teaching that declares that ALL people possess the Buddha Nature...all people ARE Buddhas...and we can access this nature by calling it forth in our lives using this phrase. 

Being a Buddha - 
is tapping the river of life that runs through ALL life - summoning the mystic law 
by 
realizing we ARE the Mystic Law. 
We not only chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo ~ we ARE Nam-myoho-renge-kyo ~the Mystic Law. 

I like to think of it as "I am one with the rhythm of all life." It is the rhythm that exists within all of life...the reason for the turning of the tides...the reason for the seasons...the atoms that exist within every single cell...from an elephant to a spec of dust. Everything possesses this connectedness...this rhythm.  
It is all encompassing and contains the wisdom and energy of all of life itself...the whole universe. 

When we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo we tap into that energy and access it for our lives...directed towards our desires. In this practice it's okay to have desires. More than okay! We don't have to alleviate them. Desires make us who we are and lead us to chant. 

When we chant we change the internal life within our lives. We change the core and fiber of our lives. We change our karma. And when we make that internal change, our ENVIRONMENT (meaning everything that is not within our own skin, our jobs, our relationships, our sense of self, everything we experience and think) ALL of that changes to reflect our internal change. We call this "Human Revolution."

When we chant we harness the energy that is our birthright. And we chant twice a day, every single day, to get and keep our lives in rhythm. 

When we are in rhythm we are in the right place at the right time... to find out about and get the job...or to meet the man of our dreams...or to protect our child from danger. When we are in rhythm life isn't so much of a struggle as it is a joy...we see the beauty in everything and we feel our lives overflowing with appreciation. 

We chant for something and get it or something better. We get access to internal happiness and strength that cannot be blown away by any event or obstacles. 

In fact we view obstacles themselves as benefits, as strange as that may sound....because obstacles make us chant more, and when we chant more we draw even higher life conditions and deeper satisfaction into our lives. 

What can we chant FOR? Anything. That's right, anything. We can chant for whatever our desire may be...even if it might not be the "right" desire for us. In the act of chanting we will change our karma and our desires themselves will naturally begin to shift. We will open our lives to the deeper wisdom within...the deeper yearning, the REAL desires that we have forgotten or given up on. We will grow. We will prosper and we will blossom. 

We will gain the wisdom of the right action to take - because ACTION springs from wisdom. 

The challenge is...we have to DO it. We have to chant to bring all this rhythm and harmony about. And that's why we practice together as an organization, the SGI, The Soka Gakkai, our fellowship of friends who support each other, chant for each other, and create a new Soka family for each practitioner. We are so fortunate. 

I hear from people all over the world, and some have strong SGI groups in their towns and others are completely alone. I love that we can connect through the power of the internet. From the moment I began chanting almost 30 years ago I have had the deep desire to share this practice, this practice that WORKS, with everyone who is looking for the real, practical means of creating happiness and results in their lives. 

We are in this life together...sharing our challenges and our successes. If you are not yet connected to the SGI please go to sgi-usa.com and find your local members. You will be so glad you did. 

Some Powerful Quotes from Daisaku Ikeda:

THIS moment, this instant, is important, 
not some unknown time in the future. 
Today, this very day is what matters. 
You must put your whole being 
into the time that exists now. 
For future victory rests in the present moment.

BUDDHISM holds that 
everything is in a constant state of flux. 
Thus, the question is 
whether we are to accept change passively 
and be swept away by it, 
or whether we are to take the lead 
and create positive changes on our own initiative. 
While conservatism and self-protection
might be likened to winter, night and death, 
the spirit of pioneering and attempting to realize 
the ideals evokes the images of spring,
morning and birth.


DO gongyo and chant daimoku with a fresh spirit. 
And, filled with renewed vitality, 
build a history of accumulating fresh benefit.

PowerPrayer for Finding Love

Nichiren Buddhists believe that the world - 

our entire environment and everyone and everything in it 

is a reflection of our own lives, and that any real change comes from changing from within...doing our own "Human Revolution." And then we see the "world" around us change. We've all experienced this many times. 

So...
If the world is a reflection of our own lives, 
doesn't it make sense to fall in love with our own lives?
Isn't the Gohonzon our own life? It is the deepest and best part of our own lives. What if we concentrated and chanted to fall in love with our own lives by 
falling in love with the Gohonzon? 
What can I mean? 
Fall in love with a piece of paper? 
Those of us who chant the Mystic Law know that the Gohonzon, the scroll we chant to - we face - we focus on - is a depiction by Nichiren Daishonin of our lives - our highest possible potential - Nam-myoho-renge-kyo in the depths of our lives. In this light, falling in love with the Gohonzon is falling in love with my life itself! 

This guidance came to me from a senior leader, and it made sense to me. Fall in love with the Gohonzon, fall in love with your own life, and you will find your lover because your love for your own life will attract him. 

"A lotus seed may be buried in mud for thousands of years, until, when conditions are right, it sprouts, grows and sends forth buds. Cherry trees endure the harsh winter to blossom beautifully in spring. Nichiren is saying that no matter how trying our circumstances, flowers of happiness will emerge from our lives and adorn it."
Daisaku Ikeda, Living Buddhism, 11/14, p. 29

I am basking in love right now - and I believe it is because I have been chanting in love with my Gohonzon - which is my life itself. I think these the following PowerPrayer when I chant. This has been a breakthrough prayer for me. As I am chanting, I am keeping the spirit of this PowerPrayer in mind. I am feeling my love for my Gohonzon - my life as I chant the Mystic Law Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!

I offer it in love and gratitude to you: 

PowerPrayer for 
Falling in Love with Your Gohonzon 
Falling in Love with Yourself! 
~and finding true love - 
and/or cultivating the love you have! 
By Jamie Lee Silver of ChantforHappiness.com

Oh Life! 
Oh Heart!
I am overflowing in Gratitude to this wonderful Gohonzon 
~MY OWN LIFE here before me!

Gohonzon! You have been 
my strong supporting arm, 
my torch, my guide!
You have always been here for me - all these years of my practice.
I feel my love flowing towards you! 
Thank you Gohonzon, thank you my life!
As I am chanting I am feeling this love pouring from me
this gratitude
this light!
My own love for my own self is blooming, blooming, blooming! Gohonzon! 
Let me now experience the magnificence of my own life in ways I've never experienced before. 
Silence my critical mind! 
Bring forth my praising mind ~ my self, dancing in gratitude!
Oh Gohonzon! 
Bring forth all who love me, including MYSELF! 
So that we can dance in joy forever.
I open my life to love from within and without 
in this golden dance
I draw to me all who wish to dance in the light of love. 

PowerPrayer for Dancing In Love!

"A lotus seed may be buried in mud for thousands of years, until, when conditions are right, it sprouts, grows and sends forth buds. Cherry trees endure the harsh winter to blossom beautifully in spring. Nichiren is saying that no matter how trying our circumstances, flowers of happiness will emerge from our lives and adorn it."
Daisaku Ikeda, Living Buddhism, 11/14, p. 29

Flowers of Happiness! Flowers of Love! 
My deepest desire as a young girl was to feel loved and be loved and love in return. It was my deepest, deepest, most heartfelt desire. I knew that I was born for this, that my desire had merit, and through this desire I could contribute to the world. Somewhere deep in my life I had the determination that this great love I would create and dance in, this great love would be mine, and would be a gift to the world as well. This was and still is my desire. 

I KNEW my desires were awesome. I KNEW I could never practice a philosophy that declared that my desires were the cause of my suffering and that somehow I had to lose my attachment to them to be happy. That just never resonated with me. So I turned away from many forms of Buddhism and kept searching until I found this wonderful Soka Gakkai International organization, found my mentor Daisaku Ikeda, and learned from all my leaders and Soka friends. With this practice our DESIRES are enlightenment. That is why I always say "Chant for what you truly desire!"

And each moment, with every action I take, and every door I open I am getting closer and closer to the experience of this desire. I have studied others who have found their great loves, and watched them keep the flame alive. I have read books. I have done courses. I have opened myself up to online dating, and each person I've met has been a learning experience. I have gone to Meetups through meetup.com and met people. 

Each moment...like the Lotus waiting to bloom in the earth, I have said, "Ahhh, this is getting me closer to my desire. I am greatly enjoying this, and I am welcoming getting closer and closer to fulfilling my desire. NO GOOD CAUSE IS EVER WASTED." That has always been my creed. 

I am basking in love right now - and I believe it is because I have been chanting in love with my Gohonzon - which is my life itself. I think these things when I chant. This has been a breakthrough prayer for me. As I am chanting, I am keeping the spirit of this PowerPrayer in mind. I am feeling my love for my Gohonzon - my life as I chant the Mystic Law Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!

I offer it in love and gratitude to you: 

PowerPrayer for 
Falling in Love with Your Gohonzon 
Falling in Love with Yourself! 
~and finding true love - 
and/or cultivating the love you have! 
By Jamie Lee Silver of ChantforHappiness.com

Oh Life! 
Oh Heart!
I am overflowing in Gratitude to this wonderful Gohonzon 
~MY OWN LIFE here before me!

Gohonzon! You have been 
my strong supporting arm, 
my torch, my guide!
You have always been here for me - all these years of my practice.
I feel my love flowing towards you! 
Thank you Gohonzon, thank you my life!
As I am chanting I am feeling this love pouring from me
this gratitude
this light!
My own love for my own self is blooming, blooming, blooming! Gohonzon! 
Let me now experience the magnificence of my own life in ways I've never experienced before. 
Silence my critical mind! 
Bring forth my praising mind ~ my self, dancing in gratitude!
Oh Gohonzon! 
Bring forth all who love me, including MYSELF! 
So that we can dance in joy forever.
I open my life to love from within and without 
in this golden dance
I draw to me all who wish to dance in the light of love.