Greet the Gohonzon (Your LIFE) With Enthusiasm!

I'll tell you, I am in love with chanting two hours a day. I just feel so positive and in rhythm. I have three people coming to chant every morning, and some available in the evenings. Right now I aim for two hours in the morning, plus a half hour on the treadmill. I feel fantastic. When I feel healthy and am working out and looking great everything changes. 

All I had to do to do this is to suffer enough to make the determination that I wasn't going to suffer anymore. That's it! Then follow through with my promises to myself. 

Yesterday I went to a beautiful concert of Brahms Requiem by getting free tickets for pledging money to my local classical music station. I went with one of my SGI friends...and discovered that the Requiem is all about comforting the grieving. It was sung in English, as Brahms intended it to be sung ~ in the correct language for each country. 

Beautiful. 

Today I'm heading off for an art fair and a folk music festival and I'm excited about both on this beautiful fall day! 

Recently, I moved my Butsudan lower so I can get closer to the Gohonzon when I chant. And I am following the guidance to fall in love with the Gohonzon. Every time I chant, I'm chanting like I'm meeting a long lost lover...which is, of course, my own life! If we can't love ourselves, then who can we love...?

I'm looking at each of the characters and appreciating and loving each one...and loving the Gohonzon as a whole. 

As my friend in Mark Lutnes suggests, greet the Gohonzon as enthusiastically as you would a friend. If you see your friend and just drone a lackluster hello, your friend will feel greeted, but not enthusiastically. If you say HELLO FRIEND and greet them with a smile and a hug and are sincerely excited to see them, they will respond in kind. It's like that when we greet the Gohonzon, our lives! What do we want to generate? Supreme happiness and appreciation! Yes! 

5 Sure Fire Ways to Super-Charge Your Life, Strengthen Your Life and GET RESULTS!

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Like the ocean that remains calm in its depths even when waves rage over its surface, and like the sun that continues shining on high even during storms, we can at each moment create value and develop our state of life, enjoying our existence to the fullest in times of both suffering and joy.

Daisaku Ikeda, Ikedaquotes.org Self-Mastery

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As you know, if you've been reading this blog, I use my own life to encourage people. I am determined to show through my actions, through my results, through my heart and my passion that this practice works. 

And, I've been chanting 2 hours a day since September 20th. There are days I haven't gotten to 2 hours, but that is my goal every day, and I make it more often than not.

I am following the SGI formula for success:
1. Chant abundant Daimoku
2. Practice for yourself and others 
3. Study the writings of Daisaku Ikeda and Nichiren Daishonin
4. Go for Guidance with your senior leaders
and, I would add -  
5: Have a great suffering to alleviate, or a great desire...in other words BE MOTIVATED! 

My perspective on what just happened in my life...the death of my son...is changing through my Daimoku. I am generating real, true appreciation for having had this wonderful, inspiring light in my life for 22 years. And when I feel this sincerely, it replaces the deep, dark sadness, at least for awhile. I am finding that the sadness comes in waves. I can be my bright and shiny self...and then suddenly swept away by sadness. I think this is normal. Even Buddhists grieve. I chant through my tears when this happens. 

As I chant to realize the greater meaning of all of this, I am seeing that my son expiated karma for himself, and helped me to expiate my karma too. All of this will keep unfolding. 

I met a senior leader after Kosen-Rufu Gongyo on Sunday. I told her I still have some regrets of things I wish I had done differently while Ben was still alive. She told me to chant to rid my life of any doubt that I did the right thing. And that when I rid my life of this doubt it would be a profound strengthening of my faith. And I've been following that guidance. 

I didn't realize that regrets about my actions from back then were actually manifestations of DOUBT. She really gave me something to think about and chant about. This is why guidance from senior leaders is so important. It's important to go to your own senior leaders. And the higher your life condition is - the more you will understand what the senior leader says. How do you raise your life condition? Chant! 

Danny Nagashima told me Ben will be reborn shortly, and he'll be 14 in the year 2030. What a wonderful thought. What a wonderful thought. It makes me think of the power of Daimoku....all that daimoku I chanted for him will be affecting him in his next life, right? It went into his life, not just this lifetime. Pretty cool. 

As I chant, I am deepening my faith and my perspective. And my life is rocking! My work-life is a blast! I'm doing more and more speeches, and enjoying each day. And I'm refocused on my health and fitness. I am determined to look and feel better than I EVER have. I'm already showing great progress! What a great way to heal!

What is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and Why do We Chant It? Feel free to share...

What does Nam-myoho-renge-kyo mean, 

and why do we chant it? 

By Jamie Lee Silver of ChantforHappiness.com - 
Not an official SGI site. 
FInd out more about the SGI by clicking on the link to the right. 

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Translate button is at the top right.)

The literal translation is:

"I fuse my life 

with the mystic law of cause and effect 

through sound vibration (or sutra)." 

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...to the cells in our hearts and minds. 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 and for the fulfillment of happiness for all. 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 (problems)
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. We chant for others, we chant for our planet, our countries, and ouselves. 
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 need to DO it. We have to chant to bring all this rhythm and harmony out. 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 more than 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. 

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Some Powerful Quotes from the President of the Soka Gakkai International, Daisaku Ikeda from Ikedaquotes.org:

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 
these 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.

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One Way to Become Your Own Cheerleader. Go YOU!

"While controlling your mind, which is at once both extremely subtle and extremely profound, you should strive to elevate your faith with freshness and vigor. WHen you do so, both your life and your surroundings will open wide before you and every action you take will become a source of benefit. Understanding the subtle workings of one's mind is the key to faith and attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime."
Daisaku Ikeda, For Today and Tomorrow, page95. 

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I had a recent exchange with a reader who said to me "I am my own worst enemy when it comes to chanting." And my first thought, of course, was "stop saying that!" When you speak you make your words come true.

What he said may be true...in his mind. And people may have told him that. But that is not a belief that will empower him. And we ALL have the power to change our beliefs...and master our minds. Here's how it works: 

Think about it... saying "I am my own worst enemy" is actually a form of self-slander. Self-slandering is not a cause we want to make!  

Our words express our thoughts, and our thoughts make up who we are. When we proclaim anything about ourselves we bring it into being. We give it life. And we have the choice to change our thoughts about ourselves. 

How? First by realizing that we CAN...by realizing that any belief is not SET...and that we can change at a fundamental level whenever we want. We are Buddhas!

When we are thinking  a thought like that, a thought that doesn't serve us, we can ask ourselves 

"Do I really want that thought to create my future? 
Can I choose a better one?" 

And see what appears. We can change "I am my own worst enemy" to "I am my own best cheerleader." 

And we say it over and over and over. After saying this over and over,we come to believe it - that is the power of our words! 

Just ask yourself - "which would I rather be?" And think about this whenever you call yourself negative names. You're a Buddha, through and through. Talk to yourself as the Buddha you are! 

This is not the Buddhism of "Learning from our Karma," It's the Buddhism of CHANGING IT!

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The other day a practicing Buddhist said to me "Well I guess I just have to keep going through this until I learn the lesson from it. That's what life is, learning lessons from our suffering." and I said 'That is not what Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism is all about!" 

Yes, I know the Gosho says 'Suffer what there is to suffer and enjoy what there is to enjoy." (From Happiness in This World by Nichiren Daishonin.)  But the Gosho "Reply to Kyo'o" states: "A sword will be useless in the hands of a coward." 

As Buddhas we can be fearless! 

I do not think it's important to "learn from our karma". Of course we can learn from the causes we make, and stop making negative causes...but that is not the same as having the belief that we have to repeat karma over and over again until we "learn" from it."

I think it's important to change it! 

When I first began chanting in San Francisco I got a job with an abusive, screaming, swearing boss. He wasn't swearing and screaming at me, but that was not something I ever wanted to experience again. Every morning, I chanted a solid hour of daimoku to CHANGE THIS KARMA forever...and never, ever have an abusive boss again. I chanted for this boss's happiness, and the happiness of all involved. After chanting this way for a significant amount of time I gained the strength to stand up to this man and stop him when he abused my coworkers. 

Eventually, that job ended and I had a series of wonderful bosses, and lots of business success. Some time later that karma resurfaced, but not in quite as bad a way. I got a boss who drove me crazy with her anxiety. At this time I did not say to myself "Wow, this Buddhism doesn't work, I can't believe I got another boss who makes me suffer."

No. I just dug right back into my practice, made a new determination and chanted with all my might for her happiness, for my success, for my future and all my dreams. At the time, I really wanted to move from San Francisco. This boss ended up giving me a substantial severance package - enough so that I could take the holiday season off to be with my babies and then move back to Chicago to raise my kids close to my Mom in the good old midwest. 

Did I "learn" from these instances. YES! I learned I can change whatever karma I want by chanting. I learned I am a powerful Buddha. 
I did not have to learn "why am I attracting this into my life?" No! I just learned to change it! 


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As Daisaku Ikeda writes in the October 16th, 2015 World Tribune, in the essay "Making Hope", page 6:

"I do not believe that people are powerless. The philosophical tradition that I embrace, on the most fundamental dimension - that of life itself - teaches that each human life partakes of the limitless life force of the cosmos. The same power that moves the universe exists within our own lives. Each individual has immense potential, and a great change in the inner dimension of one individual's life has the power to touch the lives of others and transform society. Everything begins with us." 

7 Keys to WINNING in all Aspects of our Lives!

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What does it mean to "Win over all aspects of our life and center our lives on this practice?" This is a phrase we've heard over and over since we began to chant, but what does it really mean? 

Here's my take on this. I write from my heart as an enthusiastic 30+ year practicing Buddhist. I do not represent the SGI in any official capacity. 

7 Keys to

Winning in all aspects of our lives!

1. Always look inside for the cure. Stop blaming anything or anyone for anything. Stop complaining. 
As Buddhists, we know the answer lies within, and the real battle involves winning over ourselves...winning over our negativity, winning over that voice inside that says "I can't." This is the real battle ground of kosen rufu! 
When we win over ourselves we win every battle everywhere, and ignite the world for peace. We may not be able to change everything, but we can win over what we can't change as long as we persevere. We can be determined to win no matter what the outcome. 

2. Set your chanting Goal
My goal is to chant two hours every single day. As I do this I feel enormous amounts of strength welling forth. 
I do not reach that goal every day, but I enthusiastically reach it as often as I can. It's a guideline for me, and I make it most days. There's something about chanting that amount of time that really works for me...especially NOW when I need to strengthen my life more than ever. You don't have to have that goal, of course, but I do believe striving for a goal really works. 

3. Chant at the same time each day to the best of your ability. 
And this may include waking up earlier. I chant from 7:00 to 8:00 am every day as much as possible. Over the past few months I've had some difficulty sleeping at night, so I've had to adjust timing some days. I've been sleeping better since last Tuesday when I celebrated my 30th Gohonzon birthday by starting a new health/eating/exercising plan. 

4. Invite people to chant with you as much as possible, and take on their challenges as your own in your Daimoku. 
I'm working with a couple of people right now and chanting sincerely for them to win in all aspects of their life, and I am committed to them winning! 

5. STUDY! The words of Daisaku Ikeda and Nichiren Daishonin should be etched into all of our lives daily! We can always refresh our practice with study. 

6. Go to SGI Meetings and participate. 
This is OUR organization. Chant for it. Chant for your district. Rather than complain, CHANT. Gather members to chant. Encourage everyone. This is our organization, and our ability to encourage each other is one of the hallmarks of the SGI. It's one of the focuses of Clark Strand in his book "Waking the Buddha." How we encourage each other across all lines is how we do the work of the Buddha - our own life's work. 

7. If you don't have an SGI near you - this is your opportunity to be a real leader and start one! You can read the New Human Revolution about the birth of the SGI and chant to form your own district and make a difference in your community and for kosen-rufu. 

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These are no small things, but the payoff is great. I stand here stronger than ever, undaunted in the face of the greatest obstacle a parent could ever face. I am optimistic, I am strong and I am even more determined to make THE difference with my life, even through my tears. 

What are your dreams? What do you wish to change inside your own heart and in the community at large. What don't you like about your life? You job? Your boss? Your family relationships? BOOM You can change them. Put your practice at the center of your life and you will gain more strength than you can possibly believe.

Happy Saturday Morning of Your New Life!

We are Buddhists. We chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo...we begin our new life each and every moment!

I just finished two powerful hours of daimoku with two members who came here to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with me. We chanted non-stop, and I am filled with hope, excitement for my life, and for my mission in this world. I created a breakthrough for myself through my determinations on my Gohonzon Birthday. I feel ready to begin anew, I HAVE begun anew already.

This week I started exercising and eating more consciously. There is now way to describe how great that makes me feel. THAT ALONE can help me rise from the sadness of my loss. Oh, I know I still have time to grieve, and that I should grieve, but I like feeling good. I want to feel good...and having a powerful, strong and healthy body just makes me ready to embrace life and take it on.

Our story is not yet written - is not yet told. I do not know my future. I know that every morning and evening I connect to the source of the power in the entire universe. 

Here is to you and fulfilling your deep, deep missions!