Human Revolution ~ Happiness

To be STRONG~  

that is the key to happiness. 

Thank you Daisaku Ikeda. These are the wisest words. 

If you are suffering in any way...please chat for strength with all of your heart. 

We are chanting for you all on the East Coast. 

Please send word - we would all love to hear from you! 

Chanting for the Protection of the Shoten Zenjin

If you have been anywhere near a source of news in the last few days you know that a huge storm, a SuperStorm (as they are calling it) is on it's way to the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. 

There was an excellent article in the New York TImes this morning about all the transportation, schools, businesses being shut down across a wide area in the east. They say power might be out for as long as ten days. 

I was in San Francisco in 1989 when the earthquake struck. I was totally protected. At the time I was in escrow on my house. And my apartment, house and place of business were all on hills. I found out that hills were bedrock, low lying lands liquified and moved. But hills were solid. I remember it as the only time that neighbors actually talked to each other. Sometimes things like this bring out the best in people. But no one really chooses them to happen. I am chanting for everyone on the east coast. 

I am concentrating my prayers on summoning the Shoten Zenjin to bring protection of this area. Do you remember the earthquake and Tsunami in Japan? We all got together and chanted for 12 hours for the people of Japan. I envisioned protective forces coming from all points in the universe to the power plant. It felt so good to chant so strongly. 

Today I wish I could gather with others and chant all day, but things are pretty normal here in Chicago. They say that we will feel the effects of the storm somewhat, but really nothing out of the ordinary.  

I am about to start chanting this morning. Please join me in chanting for the Shoten Zenjin (protective forces within all life) to protect the people of the Eastern Seaboard...and all of the East Coast of America. 

The Shoten Zenjin are forces within all of life, forces WITHIN our lives that serve to protect us. I am chanting to focus them in the area they are most needed. 

Who or What are we Chanting to?

A wise friend of mine once asked me this...
Who or what am I chanting to?

I told him this:

When you chant, you are chanting to the ALL, your highest self, the universe, the law that exists within your own life and within all of life...you are accessing your OWN Buddhahood.

You don't have to be reborn lifetime after lifetime to realize your Buddhahood. Chanting right now brings it right out of your own life!

That may sound like gobledygook to you, and that's ok.
Chanting is experiential...you don't know until you try!
It's hard to explain. The only way to really feel it is to chant!

See for yourself.

My friend Amos started chanting to prove to his wife that she was wasting her time chanting.
He chanted to PROVE it didn't work.
40 years later he is still chanting! And he's one of the most inspiring people I know!
It doesn't matter if you "believe it".
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo is a law.
It doesn't have opinions.
Remember it means "I fuse my life with the mystic (unfathomable) law of cause and effect sutra (or through sound vibration)."
Give yourself a number of days to try it...100 is good, and chant every morning and evening, and look up your city in the SGI website (the link is on this blog) and go to a meetings...then write me and let me know what happens!

Happy Saturday! Want to Chant 2 hours with us today?

Yayyy Saturday is here! 

Today, October 27th, I will have a group of people here chanting from 11am-1pm Chicago (Central) time. Please join us from wherever you are! It is a great day to chant. 

What are we doing when we chant? We are tapping into the life force of the entire universe and directing our prayers to our own life...which IS the life of the universe. We don't have to beg or ask for favors. We are not asking something OUTSIDE of ourselves to help us with anything. No. We are tapping into the rhythm that runs through every cell of every thing and every person everywhere. We are tapping into the greater connectedness of everything. THat is why your prayers are so effective. That is why you can chant for someone across the world and see the effect. 

One time many years ago, I saw a picture of a boy who had been burned in one of our many wars. All you could see was his angelic face and a woman hovering above his head holding it and talking to him. I cut this out of the newspaper and put it up by my altar. Something about that picture just moved me to action. I chanted for that little boy. I chanted for his healing and an end to all war and for the woman with him. Later, someone was at my house and saw the picture. She told me his story had continued with him being airlifted into Canada for advanced burn treatment. Our prayers work...whether we see the result that day or not. 

And our prayers build up over time. There are two types of benefit, conspicuous and inconspicuous. Of course you see conspicuous right away. But inconspicuous goes deep in your life and is there for when you really need it...like stopping that car accident from happening, or a lvele of well being just growing and growing in your life. 

Last week was a long week for me and I'm happy to have time to tidy my apartment (and CAR), have a few hours to chant with some others and just be grateful to be a live and healthy and happy. Chicago has wildly fluctuating temperatures and in this week we've had almost a 40 degree drop in temps. People are sick all over. So far I am still crossing my fingers and feel fine. I take a lot of vitamin D, a multivitamin and drink a lot of water. I also exercise at least 5 times a week. I just like the way it improves my spirits and helps get rid of that feeling that I am going to gain the wright back. (For those of you new to this blog I've lost 50 pounds permanently) This was absolutely something I tried to do all my life, and accomplished within the past few years. I carry around my before and after pictures and people don't recognize me from the picture. 

Today in my chanting I am going to focus on my career, the members of my district, my family and YOU, the readers of this blog. 

Request for Experiences

You can use your experience to inspire others. 
I am looking for written experiences. 

Here's what I would like:

Tell us what was happening before the experience...and what your challenge was. 
Tell us what guidance you used, and what quotes inspired you and how you chanted. 
Tell us what happened. 

Pictures are always a plus. 

My email is chantforhappiness.com

The process of writing an experience is good for your life. You can present your experience at an SGI meeting and have me publish it here. Your benefits will multiply!

Life is Eternal...John Denver and Me

This is a picture of my first meeting with John Denver, singer, environmental enthusiast and Hunger Project founder. Meeting him was one of my first benefits from chanting. It was in 1985 right after I began chanting. I was giving him a quartz crystal. I began listening to his music when I was young, and his music sustained me through many hard times. He sang uplifting songs about the interconnectedness of life...he was a Buddhist without even knowing it. 
Because of him I learned to play guitar, I did the est training, met my husband and moved to San Francisco. Every year I'd see him sing. One year I realized he was going through a down period. I wrote him a letter about my appreciation for him, and told him about chanting. And I chanted for him every day. I met him one more time...and he seemed not so good. The people accompanying him were not the type of people I like to have around me. I kept chanting for him. 

In 1997 I was in Pacific Grove with my two sons visiting a friend. I was right on the sand, very close to him, when his plane went into the water and he died. I chanted for his future...for all his dreams to come to fruition...for him to accomplish all his goals in his eternal life. And that night...as I was at the ocean playing and singing for him, I was filmed and photographed. I ended up singing for John Denver on the evening news as they announced his death. I sang for John Denver. And my picture was taken and went out on the AP wires. My boys and I were in color on the cover of the Denver Post newspaper, and many other places. Here's that picture:

So here I am singing for John Denver with my full and open heart. My prayers reached his life. Mystical, mystical, mystical. And I chant for him every day. There is a generation of people who don't know his music. Our story is not over....may never, ever be over....

Living as a Buddhist - What does this mean?

First of all, living as a Buddhist is living a life of action. Some people think of Buddhists as sitting on a high mountain top somewhere ~ contemplating the wonders of the universe, and that's not an accurate depiction as a modern-day SGI Buddhist. 

Yes, SGI Buddhists are vastly different than any other kind of Buddhist. 

Here I will just say briefly that SGI Buddhists do not pray to Buddha as a substitute for God, and do not believe that happiness exists in some far off place that can only be attained by quieting the mind so completely that it is devoid of any desires. 

NO! SGI Buddhist USE their desires as fuel for happiness, just as they use their problems as fuel for happiness. We realize our fundamental challenge in life is to overcome our notion that we are not Buddhas. We live our lives to keep awakening the knowledge, keep shedding light on...keep en-lighten-ing the very fact that we ARE the universe and we ARE the power in our lives. 

The illusion many people on earth have is of their own weakness. SGI Buddhists serve as bright lights to illuminate their own, and everyone else's power. This is done by realizing our negativity is the MAIN BARRIER we need to confront and conquer. 

When we get negative, the important thing is to FACE IT and chant to rid our lives of it. And we do this by chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. 

We also see our lives as part of the great web of life. As Daisaku Ikeda puts it:

The misfortune of others is our misfortune. Our happiness is the happiness of others. To see ourselves in others and feel an inner oneness and sense of unity with them represents a fundamental revolution in the way we view and live our lives. Therefore, discriminating against another person is the same as discriminating against oneself. When we hurt another, we are hurting ourselves. And when we respect others, we respect and elevate our own lives as well." - Daisaku Ikeda

Each day I awaken and sit in front of my life...my altar...my very own heart that is represented in the scroll that Nichiren Daishonin inscribed called the Gohonzon. I face it and chant for one hour. Some  people chant for less time...others for more. And some days I chant longer, other days for shorter amounts. 

In that time I connect with the life flow that is within me. I chant in appreciation, I chant with desire, I chant for other people. I chant for my country, the world, and for anything that is on my mind. I chant to realize my own Buddhahood and to expand the life that is within me so that my light (the light of us all, the light of the universe ) can glow stronger and stronger through me and that those who are still suffering can have hope. 

Suffering is mainly a lack of hope, and lack of strength. 

Suffering is a feeling, a fear, a dread and a lack of light and life and warmth. 

And if I can raise from the depths of the deep, deep longing without hope that I was in most of my life, well, so can anyone else. Anyone who chants these words can be happy. 

Happiness is something we build from inside our lives. It is totally unattached to what is happening in our lives. I know this is hard to believe at time, and at other times it makes perfect sense. I know sometimes we lose a loved one to death, and we think we will never be the same. I know that the people I have loved who have died are here with me everyday. I talk to them, they converse with me, and I'm not crazy. 

Life is eternal. My Mom is right here. 

So is my friend Danny, and lately I am really in sync with john Denver. It has been 15 years since he died and I will write about what happened between the two of us on this blog soon. It is a fascinating story of how Nam Myoho Renge Kyo reaches into the depths of life, whether we see it THIS MOMENT or not. 

Today chant to praise your life and to wipe away any thoughts of doubt in your life. Doubt is what holds us back. In SGI Buddhism faith is a muscle, faith is a verb. It is up to you to strengthen it....and YOU CAN DO IT! 

Chant to strengthen your faith. Chant to have the kind of benefit that blows you away! Chant for those you love and those your really don't love and you can watch your life grow in amazing ways. Compassion is also like a muscle. You grow your compassion and you grow your own ability to revel in the beauty all around you...including the beauty of your very own soul. 

Happy Tuesday. Happy Chanting. Happy Life my dear friends!!! 

About Setting Deadlines for Results

I received a note from a reader about deadlines. They were wondering what to do when the deadline has passed, but the result has not happened. What does this mean...and what do you do next?

Kate is my guest blogger for this question:

We set deadlines to motivate OURSELVES into action. A deadline is not for the universe to respond to us. We chant. We take action. The deadline comes. We either win or we don't. If we don't get the result by the deadline we pick ourselves right up again and redetermine. The goal is to never be defeated. Sensei always says "To win in life is to never be defeated." That does not mean that we will never fail. It's our spirit that matters. The battle we fight is not with the universe. It's with our inner demons...the ones that say things like "obviously chanting doesn't work because I did not get my dream by my deadline...or...maybe I should have a different goal...maybe I wasn't MEANT to have that thing!....or what am I doing wrong? Maybe I wasn't chanting the RIGHT way!" It is at that juncture that we must recognize the opportunity to deepen our faith and our understanding of the profundity of Buddhism. ANYTHING that DRAINS OUR LIFE FORCE is the negative function. Any inner voice that causes us doubt and hopelessness IS the negative function. Once we decide we will win no matter what ~ we need only to continue. We've already won. The battle is with the negative function within. 
Ultimately, deadlines are irrelevant. Set them if you need them to motivate yourself. But decide from the onset that you will win no matter what. And hold YOURSELF accountable. Not the universe. If it is a crucial moment and you are in a dire predicament, financially, or health-wise, it is time to DEMAND the protection of the Shoten Zenjin. No prayer of a votary of the Lotus Sutra will go unanswered. If your prayer is going unanswered find out what it means to be a votary of the Lotus Sutra. STUDY. And as you are chanting DEMAND the result that you want through your prayer. Awaken to your mission and realize that all your suffering is your opportunity to encourage other people. That is what is meant by turning Karma into Mission."

Determination for Financial Fortune - a Power Prayer for you...

Here is a power prayer you might want to use. 
It is general, if you wish you can make it more specific ~

When you are chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo have this determination in your head:

"I am determined to never again worry about Money! I am determined to be financially free and financially savvy. I am very comfortable with my money and always have enough to be able to do whatever I want to do...whenever I want to do it! I have enough money to live the life I want to live, to travel, to give gifts, to donate and to plan for the future. I feel secure and happy and know I always have enough money. I am receiving all I ever need all the time. My foundation is solid and I am secure. Every day I learn more about money and enjoy the process. I do wonderful work and am  wonderfully rewarded!" 

Anything is POSSIBLE!

Hello! Good Morning! 

It's my 27th Gohonzon Birthday!! 

Today I enter my 28th year of chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. 

I am more determined than ever not to limit my life...to go for my dreams and to appreciate each moment along the way. 

The sun is shining and I am sitting down to send Daimoku to YOU to the world, the universe, my country, my family and friends. We are all in this life together for a reason. 

I keep thinking about this month's Gosho. It says that we have all been related as family...literally every person on earth has been a family member of ours, and we all owe EVERYONE a debt of gratitude. Isn't that a beautiful way of looking at life? Yes. I know why I always chant for those in need and do what I can to help them. I DO owe them a debt of gratitude. And I will spend the rest of my life fulfilling the vow for Kosen Rufu...working to share Nam Myoho Renge Kyo and love and excitement and hope and gratitude with as many people as I possibly can. 

Thank you for reading my blog and being here with me! Thank you for passing it on to your friends and fellow members! 

Please remember not to limit your life. We can't always figure out exactly where our future and our happiness will lie...but if we continue chanting and focusing on what we want, we are gradually getting closer and closer to it. And for me, appreciating HERE, just as much as WHERE I WANT TO GO is one of the major reasons I greet each day with a smile and no longer feel the ache of constant hunger and longing in my gut. I have truly changed that aspect of my life...and it is something I thought I would have to live with for life. It was so close to me that I didn't even realize it was changeable. I thought those feelings of hunger and longing were who I was, not an aspect of my life. Through this incredible practice I have changed that fundamental tendency forever...and ridden my life of the deepest pits of sadness forever. Anything is possible through chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. 

Please have faith in your own power to tap the deepest resources of life itself through your prayer! 
Let me hear from you!
Enjoy your sweet daimoku!

A Guest Blogger today and a GREAT QUOTE

Today I am posting an email from a reader. It came at the perfect time and says the perfect thing so I hope you will enjoy it! I have been busy reaping the benefits of my hours of chanting last weekend, and been happily running from morning until late at night for the past few days! 

The quote below is a prescription for how ALL of us can live our lives secure in the knowledge that every Daimoku is hitting every mark...every time! Let's all SUMMON our faith more than ever and release all our doubts!!!

Here is our guest blogger's encouragement:

 I am feeling very inspired, the SGI meeting I went to was about courage and faith.  Really it's in times where we feel that we cannot go on where we feel like giving up, that's when we call forward our courage and faith to go on. When we are chanting it is not about thinking through our problems how will this work out, but just deciding  how we want things to be and letting go enjoying our daimoku and allowing the buddha nature within us to come forth. Our strategizing in front of the Gohonzon, blocks the way for our innate wisdom to shine through.  I know that you have said this all before and thank you!  I would like to share a quote from President Ikeda's lectures on The One Essential Phrase, one that has touched me deeply and one which I will use to continue on my daimoku campaign:

Daimoku is like light. As the Daishonin says, "A candle can light up a place that has been dark for billions of years." Similarly, the moment we offer prayers based on daimoku, the darkness in our lives vanishes. This is the principle of the simultaneity of cause and effect. At that very instant, in the depths of our lives our prayer has been answered.
The inherent cause (nyo ze in) of a deep prayer simultaneously produces a latent effect (nyo ze ka). While it takes time for this effect to become manifest, in the depths of our lives our prayers are immediately realized. So at that moment light shines forth. The lotus flower (renge), in blooming and seeding at the same time, illustrates this principle of simultaneity of cause and effect.
Therefore, it is important that we offer prayers with great confidence. The powers of the Buddha and the Law are activated in direct proportion to the strength of our faith and practice. Strong faith is like a high voltage-it turns on a brilliant light in our lives.
Prayers are invisible, but if we pray steadfastly they will definitely effect clear results in our lives and surroundings in time. This is the principle of the true entity of all phenomena. Faith means having confidence in this invisible realm. Those who impatiently pursue only visible gains, who put on airs, or who are caught up in vanity and formalism will definitely become deadlocked.
People who base themselves on prayer are sincere. Prayer cleanses and expands the heart, and instills character.
Daimoku is also like fire. When you burn the firewood of earthly desires, then the fire of happiness-that is, of enlightenment-burns brightly. Sufferings thus become the raw material for constructing happiness. For someone who does not have faith in the Mystic Law, sufferings may be only sufferings. But for a person with strong faith, sufferings function to enable him or her to become happier still.
Faith is inextinguishable hope. The practice of faith is a struggle to realize our desires. And the basis of this practice is prayer. Through prayer, hope turns into confidence. This spirit of confidence unfolds in 3,000 ways, finally resulting in the attainment of our hopes. Therefore, we must never give up.
Even places that have been shrouded in darkness for billions of years can be illuminated. Even a stone from the bottom of a river can be used to produce fire. Our present sufferings, no matter how dark, have certainly not continued for billions of years-nor will they linger forever. The sun will definitely rise. In fact, its ascent has already begun.
To put yourself down is to denigrate the world of Buddhahood in your life. It is tantamount to slandering the Gohonzon. The same is true of setting your mind that absolutely nothing can be done about some particular problem or suffering.
Also, we must not decide in advance that a particular person or a particular area is a lost cause. It is precisely when faced with challenging circumstances that we need to pray. The key is to offer concrete prayers and take action-until results are produced.
Prayers based on the Mystic Law are not abstract. They are a concrete reality in our lives. To offer prayers is to conduct a dialogue, an exchange, with the universe. When we pray, we embrace the universe with our lives, our determination. Prayer is a struggle to expand our lives.
So prayer is not a feeble consolation; it is a powerful, unyielding conviction. And prayer must become manifest in action. To put it another way, if our prayers are in earnest, they will definitely give rise to action.
Thank you for your wonderful contributions! You make my day receiving your daily blogs, I love them and will tell more people about them.

And thank YOU friend for sending this incredible quote on this wonderful day!!!!

A Great Quote for you!

The human spirit is as expansive as the cosmos. 
This is why it is so tragic to belittle yourself or to question your worth. 
No matter what happens, 
continue to push back the boundaries of your inner life. 
The confidence to prevail over any problem, 
the strength to overcome adversity and unbounded hope
—all reside within you.

Daisaku Ikeda

Your Comments? 

Beautiful Fall Here in the Midwest!

What is it about fall...such a wonderful feeling is fall...time of change...time of remembering. I have been spending time in my lovely arboretum. It's a wonderful park-like area with roads and paths. There's a part of the Arboretum that turns all golden..like this:

And there is gold on the ground and gold in the trees...so lovely...

I have been reading and re-reading the Gosho from the October Living Buddhism magazine about repaying ones debts of gratitude. "The Four Virtues and the Four Debts of Gratitude". 

Do you know it says that all of us beings...ALL of us beings, have lived so many times that we have all been related to each other at one time or another? I think I have always known this, and it is why I write this blog...to reach out to all of my family members...YOU.. and all of the future readers of this blog. 

I am chanting for the growth of this blog...that it reach more and more and more people.... not because I want fame or fortune...just because I want to reach all who are suffering, or longing for the secret to happiness to come to them. 

You and I, and all those who chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo share a great secret. We KNOW that the rhythm of the universe is within US...and accessible to us. 

We can strengthen our lives at every moment through chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, and raise the vibrational level of our lives, and everyone on the planet...and the entire universe through our chanting. We can fulfill our dreams and live lives of happiness, not fearing death...not fearing ANYTHING. All humans long for this.  

It is our honor and birthright to share it with ALL. It is our way of repaying our debt of gratitude to all living beings. 

Thank you for joining me and all of us in this mission!

Thank you so much for attaching the link to this blog to your facebook pages, and your emails. Thank you so much for joining with me to help all people become happy. 

Becoming happy, and spreading happiness is the greatest joy. 

I have decided to write my book along with Julia, my incredible friend in Ukiah California. She is a published author, a therapist, and has an incredible grasp of this practice. We are both chanting for the fulfillment of our shared dream of Kosen Rufu through each person's happiness. She has a unique voice that is a bit different from mine...more scholarly. Our goal is to reach everyone in their own way and in their own place. 

Here is some wonderful guidance from President Ikeda sent through a new friend in the UK:

The way to practise is to have the attitude while we are chanting that we are in no way different or separate from the eternal Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, or the Buddhas who are enlightened to that Law. The key is to praise one’s inherent Buddhahood and then go out into the world and practise as a bodhisattva, treasuring others, encouraging them to experience their Buddhahood too.

This is a gradual process. When we practise to the Gohonzon, Nichiren Daishonin said we are simultaneously in the state of Buddhahood or enlightenment, but we cannot easily discern that life condition with our minds; therefore we do not always act accordingly. However, through our constant relationship with the Gohonzon, we gradually challenge and overcome the influence of negativity arising from our karma. As we open up our hearts we can begin to experience all those qualities of Buddhahood working naturally and vibrantly inside us and affecting everything that we think and say and do.

President Ikeda has recently described the process as this: ‘When we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo while practising for ourselves and others, with the Gohonzon of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo manifested by the Buddha as our clear mirror, and with deep confidence in the Gohonzon existing in our own lives, Myoho-renge-kyo within us resonates with the Myoho-renge-kyo outside us, and the world of Buddhahood emerges within us.’ [World of Nichiren Daishonin's Writings Part 12].

Wonderful Benefit! A Poem from my son Ben

My wonderful son is about to turn twenty...and is going through a transformation in how he sees his life...and how he sees his place in life. I've posted about my sons before...Aaron and Ben. I have adored every moment of being their mother. I have loved playing with them, chanting with them, watching them run, and encouraging them with all my heart. I raised my sons as Buddhists...teaching them to chant for everything...to end bad dreams, to solve relationship problems, to stop bullies. We have chanted together since they were babies. I believe in them...I believe in their happiness and their hearts! Here is Ben's heartfelt poem he gave to me on last week in honor of my birthday in September. Oh thank you Ben!!

Mother Oh Mother

I've been wandering around 

Wasting my youth in a stupor

A sheet of incomplete understanding was pulled over my eyes

Only to disguise

What I could not see

Always alone and always right

I searched and searched for people to help legitimize

My feelings of knowing everything

Though I could not see, this was my irrational belief 

I judged and I judged

And I judged the judgers who judged me

I ignored those loving souls

By thinking they were more people that I had to beat

I ignored those around me 

Who loved me 

Despite me closing them off

And mother oh mother I ignored you most of all

I thought I was so separate

In a different world that was untouchable

But now that our worlds have collided I see I am no different at all

Just another soul, searching, sometimes loitering

I thought I had to figure everything out myself

Mother oh mother 

You've always been so warm

You welcomed me to this world 

To you I was a whole world in your arms

You've understood my journey from the very beginning

You created a self-fulfilling prophecy inside of me

You held me so tight that the world was alright

You told me you always knew that I was going to be fine

That despite my mind,

I know I will always have your love

Despite my foolishness you know I am somewhere

Maybe too far away and ignorant at the moment

But you stuck around and waited patiently guiding me from above 

Swooping and watching and loving like a dove

You fed me and clothed me, and made sure I was healthy

In a time where I was too defiant to realize you were always showing your love for me

I thought I was a bad child

But you were too smart

You helped me discover 

That I had a great big heart

You instilled in me a love

As selflessly as anyone can do anything

You opened my eyes to the amazing world of spiritualism

All in all when I look back I picture

That I was a little pup and you were so tender

And that little pup grew an ego, 

Some self-righteousness, insecurities and an agenda,

But when he finally yawned and stretched out his paws,
He awoke to this world sure of nothing but your love.

Mother, oh mother I love you with all my heart
I could cry at how beautiful a person you are.

Have a Powerful Week!

I chanted a LOT this weekend...

I probably chanted 5 or 6 hours all told. On Saturday morning I chanted about two hours but I was distracted by the phone, texts and my own mind. I really battled to stay connected to my prayer, and I know I had an impact, but it was not a continuous flow of chanting. I was chanting for my son and his college Cross Country race. 

It turns out he got a cramp in the race and barely finished, but talking to him later ~ his life-condition was sky high. He had actually had a great day and didn't feel defeated at all!  See, that's one of the key points of the Buddhism of the SUN...How we deal with and react to what life presents. 

We wish we could control everything sometimes. But we really can't....at least not every minute of every day. Right? So what do we do? How do we live those precious minutes in the midst of our disappointment? On Saturday night I thought I was going to have something lined up with someone...and when it fell through what did I do? I ran across the pond (well, not literally!) and walked on the treadmill for almost an hour listening to uplifting music and I felt GREAT! 

Chanting gives you the High Life Condition to soar in life like an eagle - NO MATTER WHAT! And it gives you the tools to make your dreams come true...but we HAVE to persevere because some of those dreams take longer than others! 

I knew my Daimoku had been distracted on Saturday morning, so I made a determination to chant for three hours on Sunday morning...a SOLID three hours with no phone and no distractions. I sent an email to my District and three wonderful people came to chant the last hour with me. It wasn't easy, but I have so much to chant about and such determinations to fulfill. 

I feel absolutely great. I am making steady progress in all areas of my life. I am chanting for benefits to share with YOU to inspire YOU. And every day I see benefits...I am fearless...I am happy.  For various reasons I can't share every single one of them with you, but I'll share as many as I can. 

Here is one benefit. You know how I love it when you write your thoughts and share your inspiration with me, right? 

This morning I got an email from a new friend in the UK, and I'll share it with you now:

"Thank you for your encouragement, I am fighting the Glums today and your post made me look at the quote I have attached to my computer to remind me to just keep chanting.  
How big are my problems, really?  I am not exiled in a hut in the middle of a graveyard in the depths of winter, yet his faith made it a caribbean holiday to him.... (she is talking about Nichiren Daishonin,  who first chanted Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, inscribed the Gohonzon and started this modern practice of Buddhism that had been predicted by Shakyamuni Buddha - He was exiled to a hut on Sado island and wrote some of his most important letters (Gosho) from there, declaring he was "the happiest man in all of Japan". 
The quote is:
" Do not have doubts simply because heaven does not lend you protection.  Do not be discouraged because you do not enjoy an easy and secure existance in this life...Foolish men are likely to forget the promises they have made when the crucial moment comes." 
And Pres Ikeda states our promise was appear as a bodhisattva of the earth and accomplish kosen-rufu.  Best get to work then."

THANK YOU friend in the UK! Thanks for reminding us all that we made a vow to return during this dark age and that the problems we face are the EXACT ones we need to change our karma for our entire families and all of humanity. We ALL have such a noble mission. 

Please remember that whatever YOU are facing...YOU are the one chanting and opening the door to happiness for the millions of people waiting. You are so important. You are a Buddha...THE Buddha, as are we all. Let's make it a powerful week! We can change anything!

Wow What a Week!

I feel like I lived an entire month in this last week! Do you know what I mean? 

My Dad and Jan were in town so my sister and I entertained a lot. We love having them visit! 

And it was a week of big events at all three of my campuses. I am the Director of Community and Alumni Relations for three colleges and this was a week of wonderful activities of giving back to the community. Busy, busy, busy! 

I am so GLAD that I have time this weekend to chant! I am so glad I know about Nam Myoho Renge Kyo...and that I realize, with all my heart that ALL the power I need, all the wisdom I need, all the determination I need will be drawn from WITHIN my life by my chanting these precious words... 

I've gotten a lot of actual proof this week. This week my son Ben wrote me a poem called "Mother oh Mother" and this is my favorite stanza:

"Mother, oh Mother,
You've always been so warm 
You welcomed me to this world
To you I was a whole world in your arms."


Isn't that beautiful? What mother wouldn't feel that last line with all her heart? I have such incredible fortune, indeed~!

And I greet the weekend with fresh resolve and a thirst for more Daimoku. (Chanting of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo) I don't even know how much I chanted today...a LOT! And I am seeing once again the things I need to change in my life, and feeling the need to fuel my internal resolve to accomplish my goals and show complete victory of faith. I am fueling my resolve with Daimoku and fresh determinations:

Some of the determinations I made today:

I am determined to live healthy every moment of every day. I am determined to find the right combinations of foods/supplements/exercises that make me feel my very best at all times. I am determined to have vibrant energy and to be moving my life forward in every possible happy way. 
I am determined to show actual proof in all aspects of my life...
health...
career...
relationships...
publishing. 

I am determined to have a vibrant, happy district full of SGI members whose lives are overflowing with benefit. 

I am determined to write engaging, encouraging blog posts for YOU that will really help you to change your life and become the happiest possible YOU! I'm determined to write the kind of blog posts you can't wait to send along to everyone others so that the spread of Kosen Rufu continues on and on more and more people become happy!  

And I am determined to have that one, cherished, special relationship...just like I know so many of you are also searching for. Believe me, when I get the answer I will share it with you! Right now I am chanting for wisdom! We can all use that, right! ? 

Please share your successes and challenges with me and with the other readers! You encourage us all with your posts and emails! 

Great Gosho Quotes to Live By!

As many of you know, the Gosho are the letters that Nichiren Daishonin wrote to his followers encouraging them. Each one of these contains gems of wisdom that you can use to navigate through life. 

Chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo is all about having the courage to chant. I know it sounds a little odd...why would it take courage to chant. Chanting is the ultimate self-reflection. And really looking at yourself is not easy. Looking at yourself every morning and every evening...is for LIONS who can roar their greatest existence into life. 
This blog is written for the courageous! 

Here are some quotes to keep you inspired. Even one quote that you carry in your heart can get you over the choppy seas of life and keep you inspired! 


"Your faith alone will determine all these things. A sword will be useless in the hands of a coward."


From Reply to Kyo'o


And from one of my favorite Goshos:


If you wish to free yourself from the sufferings of birth and death you have endured though eternity and attain supreme enlightenment in this lifetime, you must awaken to the mystic truth which has always been within your life. This truth is Myoho renge kyo. Chanting Myoho renge kyo will therefor enable you to grasp the mystic truth within you...


It is called the mystic law because it explains the mutually inclusive relationship of life and all phenomenon...


When you chant the mystic law and recite the Lotus Sutra, you must summon up deep conviction that Myoho Renge Kyo is your life itself. 


Above quotes are from the Gosho "On Attaining Buddhahood"


"One who hears even a sentence or phrase of the Lotus Sutra and cherishes it deep in his heart may be likened to a ship which navigates the sea of suffering. The Great Teacher Miao-lo stated, Even a single phrase cherished deep in one's heart will without fail help him reach the opposite shore. To ponder one phrase and practice it is to exercise navigation..." 


From "A Ship to Cross the Sea of Suffering"

Nothing is Impossible!

Kind of a cool quote isn't it? 

We can even become more youthful through this practice. I know many of you have experienced this! Please send me your experiences and pictures to share with other readers. 

It is almost 7:00 in the morning here in Chicago. This has been a very busy week for me at work, and I have my family visiting from North Carolina as well. It's beautiful and chilly here. The trees are on fire...it's fall in the Midwest! 

Today I share this quote with you from our mentor, Daisaku Ikeda:

"Through faith, with each passing year, our hearts become increasingly youthful. We advance vigorously and filled with a sense of boundless hope for the future. This is true health. This is true longevity. Those who dedicate their lives to kosen-rufu can definitely achieve such a state. That is why we practice faith." 

May your day be filled with a boundless sense of hope for the future! Through chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo we FILL our lives with the rhythm of the universe...we directly experience all that is our birthright, and we can pass along this experience and knowledge to others. That is our gift...our gift to ourselves...our gift to the world. May you all be filled with a sense of hope. Remember, chant for what you want, chant until you feel certain that it is already yours. Chant in appreciation even if you don't feel appreciation right now...and soon you will! 

Have a great day!

For all my new friends, and old ones!

Welcome to the Blog Chantforhappiness!

I am Jamie Lee Silver and I live in the Western suburbs of the Chicago area. I'm about to celebrate my Gohonzon birthday on October 20th! I've been chanting since 1985 and was looking for this practice for many years...my whole life, in fact, before I moved to San Francisco and met Delores Hepburn and Kate Randolph and began an earnest practice then. 

I embraced this practice wholeheartedly from the beginning. I was fortunate enough to have enough suffering in my life that I was really motivated! 

Over the years I have changed everything that I chanted about, and live a life of glorious victory with my mentor Daisaku Ikeda, my SGI members (I'm a District leader here and hold meetings at my house every Wednesday) and all of my blog readers. I live my life to help others discover this Buddhism, and put it to use in their lives. 

I have raised two amazing sons as Buddhists. They are 22 and 19 (almost 20!) and they are discovering more and more of their own power every single moment. Aaron is in his first year of Med School (as many of you know), Ben is in his second year of undergraduate study). Every day living life with them is an honor and benefit for me! They are joining us all in awakening to their Buddha Nature. 

We all know that we can practice Buddhism and we can PRACTICE Buddhism! If we really want to change our sufferings into brilliant sparkling diamonds it requires real work, guts, courage and determination. I write this blog to IGNITE your practice and help you to take it to the highest level where you are vibrant, alive, creating benefit for yourself and others and fulfilling YOUR mission for Kosen Rufu! 

I am available by email, and by phone, (you can email me about that)
 I try to respond to every email even though it may take me a few days. 

There are many posts on this blog you might want to explore...I have been writing it over three years now! Check out the older posts too! 

Please forward this blog to your fellow members and friends and help us to expand our reach for Kosen Rufu! (World Peace founded on respect for life!) You can translate this blog into almost any language using the button at the top left! 

And for today, please realize that every single problem you have - none of them are bigger than Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!!! Your prayers for others CHANGE THEIR LIVES! You are that powerful! Your prayers for yourself change your karma in the past and the future for your family...and there is nothing you can't change! Just keep chanting, follow Daisaku Ikeda's guidance, stick close to the lifeblood of faith - the SGI, keep smiling and chanting and crying when you need to, and you will polish your sparkling life! And above all, do not give up! Realize your obstacles are actually tailor made for you to create the best life possible! You are meant to overcome these exact obstacles and become happy. You can chant for whatever you want...your heart is pure and will become more and more and more pure. Do not doubt yourself or your practice. Chant every day - twice a day! You can do it! We can do it together with our mentor !!! Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!!! Brilliant YOU!

Have a great day!