YOU Matter. Your Happiness Matters. Putting Your Practice First is the Key!

This picture comes from Julia 

in Northern California ~

I have gotten several emails lately from some of you who are suffering and looking for the way to become happy. I am so glad that you wrote me. The very act of writing shows that you are determined to find the solution, and have not given up. 

My answers to each of you varies but holds the same theme.

To establish Happiness,  
and lead a life of victory, 
you have to put yourself first.
And the way to put yourself first 
is to put your practice first.

You can absolutely do this. It takes strengthening your muscle of faith by making the determination that YOU MATTER. Your happiness matters. Your peace of mind matters. If you want to put your life first you really HAVE to put your practice first! Every morning you chant and set your life in action for winning. Every evening you chant again to keep your life on a roll. You don't let anything stop you from practicing. 

You just have to set a determination: 
"My practice comes first! 
My life comes first! 
When I put my practice first I will win and be happy, 
and when I win, everyone else in my life is happy too."

Happiness is contagious. When you are happy and fulfilled, your happiness spreads to other people. THis has actually been scientifically proven recently. When one person smiles at another, the person being smiled AT has happiness brain waves generated. Buddhism is reason. Buddhism is common sense. 

When you practice, study, go to SGI meetings and encourage others, you will experience a life of strength. Sometimes doing these things is not easy, and it is PRECISELY at this point, when you have to win over yourself or your obstacles, that you are strengthening your muscle of faith. 

In Learning from the Gosho, The Eternal Teachings of Nichiren Daishonin, Daisaku states on page 240:

"The extent to which we can receive and use the vast, profound joy derived form the law depends entirely on our faith. Will we take a small cup of water from the ocean, or will we fill up a large swimming pool? Can we freely receive and use still more? This is determined entirely by faith.

"If somewhere in your heart you have decided, "I alone am incapable of becoming happy." "Only I cannot become a capable person" or, "Only my sufferings will forever remain unresolved." then that one factor of your mind or determination will obstruct your benefit."

Daisaku Ikeda

It's truly up to you. When we decide to become happy we can become happy. That is the beauty of this practice. I hope you've enjoyed the experiences from the last few days. These are some of the members in my district...such a joy to see their growth and determination. 

Please share your victories with me and the rest of the readers. My email is chantforhappiness@gmail.com. And thank you for sending links to chantforhappiness.com and posting Chant For Happiness posts on your facebook page! 

What a Moment in Time ~ Let's Strengthen our Faith More Than Ever

Here we are in the Midwest by Chicago...

under water, flooding everywhere

with the rivers still rising. 

The windchill here is around 25 degrees 

on April 18th, and it's snowing. 

And we're all keeping an eye on Boston. 

I'm about to return to the Gohonzon and chant another hour for justice, and for kosen-rufu. Whoever is behind the Boston bombing...let it be revealed now. 

I'm chanting for the happiness of all of humanity. 

I'm redetermining that through my own prayers there will be peace on earth...through my own transformation and in front of my own Gohonzon kosen rufu is born.

All of us make such a difference 

through our own determination.  

Let's not give up hope! 

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo

Bhavya's Experience of Victory

Bhavya and Ayaan

My name is Bhavya Sawhney 
I have been practicing this beautiful philosophy for the last 7 years. I am the mother of two-kosen rufu kids, one 6-year girl Aashina, and a 5-month-old boy, Ayaan. With this practice I have had lots of victories and today I will share the most recent one.

Last week was very tough for me. I had an important test on Friday the 12th of this month, but since Monday the 8th Ayaan had severe stomach flu. He had become very cranky and wouldn’t leave me.  I was getting very tense since I had to study as well as take care of him. If I tried to leave him with my mother in law or my husband he would just cry for hours.

This time, instead of getting stressed and applying my own strategies, I made the Gohonzon my center and put my practice first.  I  also read Sensei’s guidance often. 

“There may be times when life seems gloomy and dull when we feel stuck in some situation or other when we are negative towards everything when we feel lost and bewildered, not sure which way to turn. At such times we must transform our passive mind set and determine “I will proceed along this path I will pursue my mission today”. When we do so, a genuine springtime arrives in our heart and flowers start to bloom.”

 Also I reached out to Jamie and requested her support so every day of that week I made a determination to chant one hour of daimoku together no matter what, to excel in my exam and for Ayaan to get over this flu. On Monday the doctor told me it could take 2 weeks for him to get better! When Jamie and I were discussing about this we said “No way! He will get well immediately with our Daimoku! It has to be out a.s.a.p!”

This daimoku was setting a victory every day for me, a mission that was getting closer and closer.  By chanting an hour every day I was able to focus more on my studies. This daimoku was giving me a rhythm to study and concentrate and not to get tense. In every way, I was putting my practice first. Ayaan would be with us doing daimoku too for the full hour. It is difficult to do that. Many people strategize things but won’t get up to chant. But for me it was my practice. 

I stopped strategizing and started doing winning daimoku that no matter what I will be able to study, and the day of test my little monster will be ok. He won’t bother my mother in law and my husband.

Here I stand to report my victory. 

I went to take my test and my son was perfectly fine. He had overcome the flu that very same day!

I would like to conclude with the gosho line “MUSTER YOUR FAITH AND PRAY TO GOHONZON THEN WHAT IS THERE THAT CANNOT BE ACHIEVED “

I am determined to work for kosen rufu whole heartedly... to be the sun of my family...to never doubt this Gohonzon no matter whatever happens. I will do morning and evening gongyo consistently to introduce my friends and family to this practice.

An Experience of Letting Go of Pain and Negative Experiences

Letting go of hurt and negative experiences.

(This is an experience from an SGI member in my district)

"I have always questioned people’s actions and behavior thus being very careful of my behavior and attitude since it can cause so much happiness as well as pain to others. More so if one is from a religious and spiritual background, our life should reflect our values and beliefs. I have always tried to be a good person giving my all in whatever I do. In the process though we sometimes make mistakes and because of this we should be careful of what we say about others because no one is perfect.
Unfortunately, we as human beings forget our imperfections or mistakes and constantly hurt each other through our words or actions. This is something I have always have a hard time dealing with. When I am a victim of bad word or actions I would have sleepless nights and worrisome days. The sadness and anxiety would not go away and I would rehash the hurt and pain by asking over and over, “how could this happen to me or my family”? I do not deserve this when I have given so much. Or maybe it’s my fault for everything that has happened.

Since having encountered and embraced Nichiren Buddhism through practice by chanting, ‘Nam Myoho Renge Kyo” and reading President Ikeda books/literatures,  my anxiety and rehashing the hurt and pain are not as bad as it used to be. 
I am so much at peace; and quiet reflection on positive thoughts has truly changed my outlook on bad experiences. There is a saying in Nichiren Buddhism, “changing poison into medicine” which is such a profound and positive mental state of one’s mind which can truly change an individual’s life condition. One can change the ‘poison’ of earthly desires and sufferings into “medicine’; something positive for one’s personal growth and development, thus helping others and praying for the people who have caused you pain instead of harboring ill feelings towards them.

This philosophy makes your life so much less burdensome you actually feel happier, stronger and good inside. 

In my current job my bosses always have good things to say about me even saying that since I have been in the department, I have brought “momentum” to the workplace. 

When my daughter got sick they suggested that I apply for the Family Leave Act so that my job is protected. It was approved right away once I submitted the paperwork to Human Resources. My daughter had a cyst in her adrenaline gland which was growing and could have been cancerous and had to be removed surgically. The cyst was found by accident after doing tests for another medical problem which have all been corrected. I am so happy and thankful that I have my daughter, Shazara, and wonderful, kind and supportive people like Ali my husband, Jamie, Mrs Reedy, Darin, my parents/family and everyone here tonight not forgetting the doctors and nurses who took care of Shazara.

What Can Your Chanting Accomplish in Your Life?

What can you accomplish through chanting? 

The power of chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo 

is bigger than your biggest problem. 

"There are many elements involved in a prayer being answered, but the important thing is to keep praying until it is. By continuing to pray, you can reflect on yourself with unflinching honesty and begin to move your life in a positive direction on the path of earnest, steady effort. Even if your prayer doesn't produce concrete results immediately, your continual prayer will at some time manifest in a form greater than you had ever hoped." 
~ President Ikeda  (From Faith in Action page 152)

What are some examples of actual proof I've accomplished through chanting? 

Click "Read More" below to see the rest of this post

Our Prayers are Powerful

Our Prayers Matter

What do we do when we find out about terrible things happening in the world, when we are touched, and saddened and scared for ourselves and our fellow humans? 

As I said yesterday, the first thing I do is go to the Gohonzon and chant. I chant for all involved, for all touched by the tragedy, and for all the beings in the world to have peace in their hearts. I envision the hospital rooms and chant for the injured, and for the people who devote their lives in the service of others as nurses, doctors, security specialists and the list goes on. I chant for the families of those afflicted, and I chant to understand and continue to have hope, and to give hope, and to somehow be an inspiration to all I touch and to all who read my words.

The next thing I do is turn to the words of Nichiren Daishonin and Daisaku Ikeda. The first thing I did this morning was read the Gosho, then I took out one of my favorite books, Faith in Action, the compilation of quotes by Daisaku Ikeda separated into categories. 

Today I turned to the section on peace and read the words I have heard and learned and find to be true, and that is, of course, that true peace starts within every individual.  Human Revolution is REAL. When we change ourselves on the inside, by raising our life conditions from the four evil paths of Hell, Hunger, Animality and Anger, we change the entire world. We are all connected to all of life. When we change, our environment and all around us changes.

On Page 289, under "Peace" in Faith and Action, Sensei (Daisaku Ikeda) writes:

"In Mahayana Buddhism, which is the creed of the Soka Gakkai, there are ten potential conditions of life inherent in human beings, known as the ten worlds. According to this principle, people who start wars exist in the four lowest states of Hell, Hunger, Animality and Anger, known as the four evil paths. Controlled directly by instinct and desire, the thoughts and actions of those who start wars are inevitably foolish and barbaric. Therefore, from the Buddhist point of view, the issue of how to build the "defenses of peace" within the hearts of such individuals takes precedence over any external systemic factors and represents both the well spring and the core of any attempt to build world peace.'

And we can begin by building defenses of peace within ourselves. When we chant to raise our own life conditions we affect not only ourselves but life itself. When we chant to experience life in the world of Buddhahood (the highest of the ten worlds) our lives become imbued with compassion and move in action to help others by chanting for them, helping them learn to chant, and engaging in society in meaningful ways, including our activities for kosen-rufu, world peace through our activities in the SGI. 

Who we are makes a difference. What we think and how we act makes a difference. In Flourish, by Martin Seligman, the great book outlining Positive Psychology, Seligman asserts that what we have long felt can actually be proven, that HAPPINESS is CONTAGIOUS. And so is anger and all other lower emotions. So our happiness actually matters. That is why I am continually encouraging you to chant for your own happiness. It is important. 

Also from Faith in Action, from page 151, the chapter on Prayer, Daisaku Ikeda states:

" 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 and our determinations. Prayer is a struggle to expand our lives." (taken from Learning from the Gosho p. 92)

"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 high voltage ~ it turns on a brilliant light in our lives. (from Learning from the Gosho page 88)

Let's all turn our lights extra bright today, and every day! 

   

Boston Today - I redetermine to chant for peace and create peace every moment

Unbelievable, shocking and so sad. 

When I heard the news I went straight to the Gohonzon and chanted for all involved, all over the world. I later heard that 95 countries were represented in Boston today. 

Our chanting, our prayer, our generating the vibration of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is needed now more than ever. 

It is so easy to get discouraged, sad, and afraid. But I hope instead that you get fired-up, chant with all your might, bring forth fighting Daimoku and redetermine to win in your life and inspire others. 

Here in Chicago we have been chanting every Monday through Friday from 9am-5pm for an end to violence in this city. Murder rates have fallen drastically. 

Our prayers make a difference. 
All of our prayers, every moment, every day.