Kathy Fisher and Jamie Lee Silver on 11/6/11
On Sunday we went to Kosen Rufu Gongyo at the Chicago Buddhist Center.
If you haven't been to your Center, I hope you go!
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
It's November....a time for new determinations....
Here we are in November...when it gets colder and darker...and somehow the days seem so, so long.
Oh yes, things do pick up closer to Thanksgiving when the boys come home, and then there's the holidays to look forward to...I think.
Today, as I sit down to chant, I am making new determinations. First of all, November is the month of Spiritual Independence. On November 28th we will all celebrate the day the SGI was excommunicated by the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood. And I don't mean that tongue in cheek. It really is a day to celebrate. No Buddhist needs a priest to tell them what to do! We are all spiritually independent and it is time to truly claim all the power we have within.
Look at what is going on in the world, people are rising up to claim the power that is theirs. This is a concept Daisaku Ikeda has been talking about for years! The people have the ultimate power....no one can stop the people when they are united. The Occupy movement is already having an effect. The Bank of America decided today not to charge it's customers $5 a month to access their own money. Hurray. What is next? I just read that Occupy protesters are heading to Iowa to occupy the offices of those running for President and demand that they start actually talking about the things that are important to Americans. This ought to be interesting.
And what does spiritual independence have to do with all of this? Everything. We are claiming our spiritual independence...we are becoming Buddhas of absolute freedom. I have vowed in my prayer and in my life that no person, no circumstance, no nothing will determine my happiness and independence. I know this may strike you as a radical notion, and I can tell you it is easier said than done...but when I keep my life condition high I feel the beginnings of such a state in my life. If you look back to the beginning posts of this blog in 2009...you'll see how this blog was born...from extreme heartache and the desire to be happy no matter what the circumstances. This does not mean I don't chant for what I desire....no...it means I don't suffer over it...most of the time!
I will write more on keeping Life Condition high in the following weeks. It all starts with your determination, your list of goals, feeling the call of your heart...and chanting, studying, helping others to chant...and continually digging deep in your prayer to realize THIS is your karma, and THIS you can change (whatever it is!)
So I'm making a fresh determination today, that the next few months are going to shine in my life. I am determined to celebrate my first year living on my own in holiday time and create many new traditions for myself. I may travel...make new friends...have adventures. I will continue chanting for the opportunity to reach as many people as possible through this blog, and by writing books and giving speeches. Please contact me if you have invitations or an agent for me! Most of all I will not feel sorry for myself that my life has changed so dramatically!
I made the decision myself to change my life, get my own apartment and begin a new phase of my life. My kids are both at college, and we are divorcing...but that doesn't mean I have to be sad. Through my daimoku I am going to come up with some goals and visions for this season...and I will fulfill my determination to live an inspiring life based on chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo...no matter what!
Join me! Make your determinations! Free your life from whatever suffering you are experiencing...let's all change our karma....and the karma of our towns, our country and our world through our own inner transformation.
Oh yes, things do pick up closer to Thanksgiving when the boys come home, and then there's the holidays to look forward to...I think.
Today, as I sit down to chant, I am making new determinations. First of all, November is the month of Spiritual Independence. On November 28th we will all celebrate the day the SGI was excommunicated by the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood. And I don't mean that tongue in cheek. It really is a day to celebrate. No Buddhist needs a priest to tell them what to do! We are all spiritually independent and it is time to truly claim all the power we have within.
Look at what is going on in the world, people are rising up to claim the power that is theirs. This is a concept Daisaku Ikeda has been talking about for years! The people have the ultimate power....no one can stop the people when they are united. The Occupy movement is already having an effect. The Bank of America decided today not to charge it's customers $5 a month to access their own money. Hurray. What is next? I just read that Occupy protesters are heading to Iowa to occupy the offices of those running for President and demand that they start actually talking about the things that are important to Americans. This ought to be interesting.
And what does spiritual independence have to do with all of this? Everything. We are claiming our spiritual independence...we are becoming Buddhas of absolute freedom. I have vowed in my prayer and in my life that no person, no circumstance, no nothing will determine my happiness and independence. I know this may strike you as a radical notion, and I can tell you it is easier said than done...but when I keep my life condition high I feel the beginnings of such a state in my life. If you look back to the beginning posts of this blog in 2009...you'll see how this blog was born...from extreme heartache and the desire to be happy no matter what the circumstances. This does not mean I don't chant for what I desire....no...it means I don't suffer over it...most of the time!
I will write more on keeping Life Condition high in the following weeks. It all starts with your determination, your list of goals, feeling the call of your heart...and chanting, studying, helping others to chant...and continually digging deep in your prayer to realize THIS is your karma, and THIS you can change (whatever it is!)
So I'm making a fresh determination today, that the next few months are going to shine in my life. I am determined to celebrate my first year living on my own in holiday time and create many new traditions for myself. I may travel...make new friends...have adventures. I will continue chanting for the opportunity to reach as many people as possible through this blog, and by writing books and giving speeches. Please contact me if you have invitations or an agent for me! Most of all I will not feel sorry for myself that my life has changed so dramatically!
I made the decision myself to change my life, get my own apartment and begin a new phase of my life. My kids are both at college, and we are divorcing...but that doesn't mean I have to be sad. Through my daimoku I am going to come up with some goals and visions for this season...and I will fulfill my determination to live an inspiring life based on chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo...no matter what!
Join me! Make your determinations! Free your life from whatever suffering you are experiencing...let's all change our karma....and the karma of our towns, our country and our world through our own inner transformation.
Monday, October 31, 2011
An Answer
Hello,
I received a question from a woman who wants to chant to get her boyfriend back. She asked how to chant and whether or not to put a date deadline on her prayer.
Dear friend:
The most important thing is to chant from the bottom of your heart for what you want.
Chant to strengthen your life. Really, I've found through personal experience that a life free of searing desire and pain is possible. I know this. and you can achieve it. When I was chanting to get reunited with someone... my constant prayer was to strengthen my life so that I would never suffer in this way again. Nothing was worse for me than heartache.
And you have to understand that it all ties in with what we call "Life Condition." When your life condition is high enough, you naturally attract all that you need into your life. Remember, it seems like this man is outside of your life, when in fact he is as deeply connected to you as everything else in the universe is. And the most powerful prayer you can have involves making the changes that you need to make internally so that all the changes you are looking for happen externally. We call this Human Revolution. Human Revolution triggers a revolution in all your surroundings...all the people...how you feel...everything. It's important to remember that you are going through what you are going through because of your karma. Not your FAULT, your karma! And chanting to do your human revolution will change your karma. Decide that you will not live in the world of hunger and heartache anymore!
And it shall be so. AND PLEASE...realize that you deserve to be happy! You deserve contentment. You deserve Love and all good things. Whether it is from this man or someone better for your life...you deserve to be happy! You are an emissary of the Buddha. Read the blog post from a few days ago. Accept the powerful positive functions into your life. Banish all negative functions!
Chant with determination. Make your list of what you want.
When you chant remember that you are not asking anyone for anything...you are VOWING to be happy. You are summoning up your life force. It belongs to you! Claim it!!!!
I received a question from a woman who wants to chant to get her boyfriend back. She asked how to chant and whether or not to put a date deadline on her prayer.
Dear friend:
The most important thing is to chant from the bottom of your heart for what you want.
Chant to strengthen your life. Really, I've found through personal experience that a life free of searing desire and pain is possible. I know this. and you can achieve it. When I was chanting to get reunited with someone... my constant prayer was to strengthen my life so that I would never suffer in this way again. Nothing was worse for me than heartache.
And you have to understand that it all ties in with what we call "Life Condition." When your life condition is high enough, you naturally attract all that you need into your life. Remember, it seems like this man is outside of your life, when in fact he is as deeply connected to you as everything else in the universe is. And the most powerful prayer you can have involves making the changes that you need to make internally so that all the changes you are looking for happen externally. We call this Human Revolution. Human Revolution triggers a revolution in all your surroundings...all the people...how you feel...everything. It's important to remember that you are going through what you are going through because of your karma. Not your FAULT, your karma! And chanting to do your human revolution will change your karma. Decide that you will not live in the world of hunger and heartache anymore!
And it shall be so. AND PLEASE...realize that you deserve to be happy! You deserve contentment. You deserve Love and all good things. Whether it is from this man or someone better for your life...you deserve to be happy! You are an emissary of the Buddha. Read the blog post from a few days ago. Accept the powerful positive functions into your life. Banish all negative functions!
Chant with determination. Make your list of what you want.
When you chant remember that you are not asking anyone for anything...you are VOWING to be happy. You are summoning up your life force. It belongs to you! Claim it!!!!
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
Great Guidance! Don't let negativity defeat you!
When you're feeling hopeless...
Remember that:
Our own negative patterns are always there...
ready to take over.
When you are reprogramming your thoughts...
your karma...and your life...
you command the Buddhist Gods (functions) at your disposal.
Remember, the Gohonzon cannot come down off the wall and do the Buddha's work.
You yourself are the Buddha...
you are the Buddha doing the Buddha's work.
You DESERVE the support of ALL the protective forces of the universe. Try chanting like this!
"Pray that instead of devils or negative, destructive forces infiltrating your being,
Brahma, Shakra, and the gods of the Sun and the Moon--positive, protective
forces of the universe--will enter your life!
Pray that they will enter the lives of all members in your district,
your region and the entire membership of the SGI, as well.
If you do this, your strength will multiply a hundredfold, a thousand fold.
With such prayer, with such faith,
you will be able to realize a fundamental transformation
in the very depths of your life. It is the secret to
achieving your human revolution."
World Tribune 2008
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Here's Our SGI District!
Every Wednesday we join together to chant, to study, to learn, and to act as mirrors for each other. We've seen each other overcome job struggles, and we've helped each other through the death of a parent. We celebrate weddings and victories encourage each other every week.
Friday, October 21, 2011
What is Enlightenment?
A reader posted a comment asking this question: What is enlightenment? And they asked...after you are enlightened can you still go in and out of being enlightened?
And I'd love to give you the definition of enlightenment in this particular Buddhism.
This quote comes form the introduction to the first book of Nichiren Daishonin's writings published first in America in 1979:
"ENLIGHTENMENT is not a mystical or transcendental state, as many might assume. Rather, it is a condition of the highest wisdom, vitality and good fortune wherein the individual can shape his or her own destiny, find fulfillment in daily activities, and come to understand his or her purpose in being alive."
This explains it so well...and I can feel these words with my life. I do understand my purpose in being alive....I know I am a Silver Sunbeam of light and encouragement, and I live my life with the constant thought of what I can be doing to help others have hope and be happy. The other day a Buddhist who had recently returned from Japan said "If you don't have any hope, you don't have any compassion." and that thought has been rolling around in my head...of course...hope is an essential to life and happiness of everyone. How can we help everyone have hope? Those who have a tool to solve their problems have hope!
Think about the word itself "enLIGHTenment".
And I know that every single morning when I sit in front of my Gohonzon and pray ernestly to meld my prayer with Daisaku Ikeda's and express his ichinen for the peace and happiness of everyone...I know I access the highest wisdom for my life. And whenever I feel stuck, or sad, or restless...I know just what to do...chant...study...encourage people...and I'll break out of that feeling right away. I also know that all my dreams and prayers and hopes are within my reach...for me and for others...because I have a tool to make them all come true. That does sound to me like enlightenment, and it is available to everyone!
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