A Message for the New Year

I prepared these quotes for the enshrinement ceremony taking place in Ukiah California for my dear friend Julia. She and my friend Danielle sprang like Boddhisatvas out of the earth this fall - both deciding to fully appreciate and embrace this faith...based on seeds I planted when I lived in California over the expanse of many years. When I first shared this practice with them they were not ready to chant...but after seeing the amazing changes and the actual proof within my life...when I visited them this year...they have both been chanting and experiencing huge benefits and changing their suffering into triumphs.

I hope you enjoy these quotes today, January 2nd, 2011.

It is my ichinen for each one of YOU to experience boundless joy from the law this year....and to enter 2012 entirely victorious!!!

President Ikeda quotes previous High Priest Nittatsu :

Wherever the Gohonzon is enshrined, that place, in a broad sense, takes on the significance of the high sanctuary. The sincere daimoku you chant to that Gohonzon with a concentrated mind free of all extraneous thoughts is instantly received by the Dai Gohonzon of the High Sanctuary of True Buddhism. The place where you chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo is instantly transformed into Eagle Peak. And this is where you attain Buddhahood in your present form (November 23, 1977)

A few other really cool quotes:

From My Dear Friends in America, a collection of Daisaku Ikeda's essays in America 1990-1996...just the greatest book - I remember cherishing each of these essays as they came out in the World Tribune...

"Faith is light The hearts of those with strong faith are filled with light. A radiance envelops their lives. People with unshakable conviction in faith enjoy a happiness that is as luminous as the full moon on a dark night, as dazzling as the sun on a clear day."

And you'll love this...from the essay in the same book called "Worshipping the Gohonzon Opens Your Life":

Nichiren Daishonin's basic object of devotion, (the Gohonzon) however, consists of writing, of words. Rather than a graphic image, the Daishonin made the written expression of the world of the intellect - the object of high reverence.

Words are mysterious, they have tremendous power....

When you worship the Gohonzon, the door to your microcosm is opened to the entire universe, the macrocosm, and you experience a great, boundless joy, as if you were looking out over the entire cosmos. You feel great satisfaction and rejoicing, a great wisdom --as if you held the entire universe in your palm. The microcosm enfolded by the macrocosm reaches out to enfold the macrocosm in its own embrace.

Just as we might look down on a bright, clear scene of the world below from a lofty mountain's highest peak, we can climb the peak of the mountain of wisdom (supreme enlightenment). We can attain a state of eternal bliss, experiencing the infinite expanse and depth of life moment after moment, as if we were flying through the universe and gazing at blazing comets, the brilliantly shining Milky Way and all of the beautiful stars.

And one last quote from the incredible essay "Gongyo is a Grand and Noble Rite." in the same book:

"For both the present and the future" is also written on the Gohonzon. For present and future --that is what faith is for. What the Buddhist Law is for. When we worship the Gohonzon, the eternal life of time without beginning wells up within us. Our faith is that every single day, every instant begins from time without beginning.

We are always setting out, full of hope, from today to the future, from this moment to eternal happiness. We are always young, always beginning. My message to you is that you must be absolutely certain of this, and live your wonderful lives without regret, with joy and brightness, always moving forward.

All my love!

Jamie

New Years is here

Now is the time for renewal...now is the time to rejuvenate our faith. New year's Day is such an opportunity to make a new start...to demonstrate Hon Nim Myo in our lives. Hon Nin Myo means "from this moment forth".

It is the perfect expression of the fact that the past is past...there is nothing we can do about it, and from this moment forth is all that truly matters. It's all that matters. Every moment of life is Hon Nim Myo!

Last night ten energetic members gathered at my house to chant a rousing hour of daimoku (Nam Myoho Renge Kyo over and over). We chanted for a fresh start to the new year...we chanted for each other and our fresh determinations...we chanted for our families and our hopes and dreams! Truly this is an exciting way of life!

On Saturday a new member of our district will be getting her Gohonzon. All of us are gathering to support her and celebrate her new birthday. It's a fantastic way to start the new year!

Merry Christmas!

Chanted three hours today! I am so determined to have a breakthrough by the first of the year.

Such a magical time! Tonight Aaron and Ben and I went to see Tangled at the Tivoli theater. The Tivoli is a cool old time theater that plays movies at a discount and hands you free peppermints as you're leaving. The first time I went to this theater I left with tears of gratitude in my eyes for this home town treasure.

And today we saw Tangled...in 3D, Disney's impressive 50th animated movie. It was FANTASTIC. Even better than UP...on a par with Mulan which is one of my all time faves. If you've never seen Mulan you're missing out! It is incredible girl power!

Tangled brought me to grateful tears over and over...it was beautiful and inspiring and humorous...and not as dark as some of those Disney movies can be.

Then, here we are, on Christmas evening, leaving the theater and it's a winter wonderland outside and the song "Let it Snow, Let it Snow" is playing on the outside speakers and Aaron and Ben and I just stopped and took in the splendor of a perfect, snowing, Christmas night in our chosen home town.

I said "let's never forget this night and this moment."

And we spent the next hour driving all around town taking in the beautiful homes and Christmas Lights. Oh how I wish I could freeze this moment forever. By writing about it I have. I will never forget this Christmas~It's the year I turned 50, Aaron will be 21 in the Spring and Ben just turned 18. We've spent the last week laughing together and chanting together. I have incredible fortune of the heart. Nam Myoho Renge Kyo! Now we're all hanging out in my butsudan room and they are playing on the same team in the Age of Empires...so creative and fun. They are best friends my Buddha Boys....incredible!

We each have a noble mission to WIN!!!!

I would like all of you to realize how NOBLE and PRECIOUS you are....and how important you are to the flow of life itself. Whenever you achieve a victory in your life, you achieve that victory for the entire web of all of life...leading us in Kosen Rufu (world peace). Remember that your karma is also your mission...and when you can elevate your problems and see them as your chosen mission to change...then you can raise yourself out of your suffering. I am doing battle with my own inner darkness and fulfill my desires every single day...and when I win everyday...we all win...everyone wins. Seeing my challenges in this way reminds me that I made a VOW to win over this darkness. I made a VOW to make my dreams come true! And I sit in front of my Gohonzon and VOW once again to win over my suffering...and to SEE my desires fulfilled...it is nobel...I am worthy. We are all noble and worthy Buddhas! AND WE WILL ALL WIN - provided we don't give up! Let's keep winning together! Chant enough daimoku to make your life condition really high ...and you have already won!!!

Ben Silver is in the house!

Today we went to Dick Pond's Running Store on the way to getting our tree. Jokingly I said "I called ahead to notify them that the Silver boys were coming." We walked in to the store and a man turned to us and said loudly "OMG Ben Silver's here...everyone...this is Ben Silver...and his entourage are here! He's a really big deal...tenth in state!"

And we laughed and laughed!

See what I mean!

Aaron is home!

That's right! Last night my Buddha Boy came home and he'll be here for a whole month. I love the University of Illinois for that!

He's a pre-med student taking unbelievably hard classes...and uses chanting to get the extra edge to accomplish his goals.

This semester he got a 4.0, and will be receiving $100 from his fraternity for his grades. He says he chants every day...and he doesn't feel like he's given life it's ALL...like he's done everything he can...until he has chanted.

He sent an email to his neuro professor thanking him for his teaching style, and for really helping him to understand the material. His neuro professor replied thanking him sincerely for his feedback and telling him that he's gotten an A+ in class. How wonderful! How wonderful to be a person filled with appreciation and insight and a man of action. I am so proud of both my Buddha Boys!

Ben continues to weigh offers from colleges. The coach at San Diego State just called and told him he'd send Ben's info to admissions...and they had pre-approved him! Since it's REALLY hard for anyone to get in from out of state, Ben was really excited. These coaches want him...and after his hard hard work, he deserves this kind of attention. Where will it all lead? I'll let you know!

Last night the members of Downers District got together for a holiday party and it was a blast. I just love the fact that we have all ages laughing and having fun together. We're taking a break from our regular Wednesday night meetings...it's a Soka Gakkai tradition starting this year...having a break from meetings during the month of December so we can do fun things like go to parties and do home visits. Everyone really misses the meetings on Wednesdays tho...so we decided to get together this Wednesday...and probably next one too.

I hope you're enjoying your holidays.

Today we get and decorate our live tree!

Deep Prayers

What a lovely time for me...starting each day with two hours of chanting. I'm chanting to reveal my true identity...chanting to have my book based on this blog published...chanting for the happiness of my family.

Here we are getting ready for Christmas...listening to Christmas music all the time. On Saturday the four of us will go to our favorite Christmas tree lot and choose our tree. Our friend...we call him the mountain man, from way north in Wisconsin even knows our names....we'll put up our tree, listen to Christmas music and watch White Christmas together. I'll put mulled cider on the stove and it will make the house smell so good. I love the holidays. I love my life. I am so happy I am constantly glowing from within.

My prayer is also to have appreciation at every moment for my delightful life. It's working.

Yesterday I gave my first class in Chanting for Happiness at the Chicagoland Wellness Center. I am excited about that. I'll be teaching every two weeks for a few months. Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!!!!