Benefit!

                         There is NO age limit on cool! 

As some of you know I have a passion for public speaking. I love to give inspiring messages of hope and change people's lives. I have a new speech - one I've developed over the years and have recently rewritten.

Tomorrow, in the Chicago area, I'm giving my keynote speech called 

"Growing Older, Better, Bolder, Stronger- Thriving Not Declining" 

There will be 230 Senior Care Managers, Social Workers, and Professionals at a conference in the Chicago Area. 

I speak about all the new research that proves we get BETTER as we get older, and the more we realize this (have positive age stereotypes) the happier we are, the longer we live, and the healthier we are! 

I highlight the power of our words to not just describe our lives, but to PREDICT our lives. 

Positive words and thoughts matter! 

So excited about tomorrow! 

9 Keys for Beginning to Chant - Please share!

By chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo you can transform all of your sufferings into benefit, and crystalize every desire into a blooming flower in our lives. You can become happier than you ever imagined...happier, more resourceful and more courageous in taking action.  

We can change anything through chanting because we tap into our inner realm of unlimited possibility when we chant. You are a Buddha of infinite potential! 

When we chant the Mystic law we see see changes in our life - whether we believe they will happen or not. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo means "I fuse my life with the mystic law of cause and effect through sound vibration" or, as some say "I tune my life to the rhythm of all life." Saying these words is a great cause that breaks through all suffering and creates a life of happiness. It works! 

"Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is like the roar of a Lion." What sickness could therefore be an obstacle? 
Nichiren Daishonin 

9 Keys for Beginning to Chant 

By Jamie Lee Silver from Chantforhappiness.com

1. Make Your list!

Make a list of what you really want in life. Take a fresh look at your desires and write them down.  Dream big. What do you really want? What do you want for yourself? What do you want for others? What do you want for the world? Make a list. Write it down and put the date on it. 

Many people began chanting with desires that later transformed into other desires. So don't worry about whether your desires are "right" desires to have. Chanting is progressive, both you and your desires will evolve. I know people who began a very rewarding practice chanting for things that were important at the time, but later changed into other desires. 

One of my friends chanted for a month to prove to his wife that this practice doesn't work. Well, he found out it DID work and more than 40 years later he is still practicing. In Nichiren Buddhism your desires ARE enlightenment. It is okay to desire whatever you desire, whether it's money, the happiness of someone else, a relationship, a job, or peace of mind and contentment. With continued practice you will see that your dreams for yourself actually become tied to the dreams of happiness for all. 

2.Chant for what is really in your heart. 

This is a great time to start a Journal.  It's not essential, but I think it's a great idea. Writing in a journal helps you become aware of your progress and benefits.

3. Choose a place to chant comfortably. 

Find your "home" with your home, where you can feel comfortable chanting out loud, having a dialogue with your life itself.  Sit comfortably. (Did I say this enough times?! ~ I like to be comfortable!)

4. Choose a focus point on the wall. 

Some people start by facing a blank wall; I chanted to a moon in a picture. Choose a focal point slightly above eye level. 

5. You may wish to have a small table nearby for tea or your journal. 

6. Write the words Nam Myoho Renge Kyo 
on a piece of paper. 

The words are pronounced as follows: 

Nam ~    Nahm, rhymes with Mom, 
Myoho ~ meeyohoh,  
Renge ~  rain gay, 
Kyo ~     kee oh. 
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. 
Nahm Meeyohoh Rain Gay Kee Oh
(Phonetic spelling) 

7. Begin to chant. 
Hold your hands with the palms facing in and touching each other in front of your heart. And say Nam-myoho-renge-kyo over and over and over again with your eyes OPEN looking at the wall. 

8. Don't Stress about your thoughts 
At first, you will probably only be able to concentrate on the words themselves, and that's fine.  Once you've got the chant down you can think about what you want and chant at the same time. 

9. Join the SGI
Join fellow practitioners as soon as you can. The SGI Portal to the right will help you locate a center near you, and you can call that center to connect to your local meeting house. 

Chant twice a day every day. Get in rhythm! Establishing a twice a day rhythm to your chanting is important. It gets the wheels of your life moving. 

Keep your goals in mind and you’ll remember your reasons for chanting! 

These words and this vibration go deep into the heart of your life itself. They summon forth your highest wisdom, vitality and sense of purpose. They also uproot the karma that is making you suffer, and give you the opportunity to change this karma forever. 

When you chant you are entering into a dialogue with your life itself. You are not chanting to any god or asking for favors. Instead, you are connecting with the rhythm of the universe itself. 

As Nichiren Daishonin says in the famous writing (Gosho) "On Attaining Buddhahood" :

"If you wish to free yourself from the sufferings of birth and death you have endured since time beginning and to attain without fail unsurpassed enlightenment in this lifetime, you must perceive the mystic truth that is originally inherent in all living beings. This truth is Myoho-renge-kyo. Chanting Myoho-renge-kyo will therefore enable you to grasp the mystic truth innate in all life...It is called the mystic truth because it explains the mutually inclusive relationship of life and all phenomena. 
"Life at each moment encompasses the body and mind and the self and environment of all sentient beings in the ten worlds, as well as all insentient beings in the three thousand realms, including plants, sky and earth, and even the most minute particles of dust. Life at each moment permeates the universe and is revealed in all phenomena. One awakened to this principle himself embodies this relationship. However, even though you chant and believe in Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, if you think the Law is outside yourself, you are embracing not the mystic law but some inferior teaching."
From Lectures on Attaining Buddhahood in this Lifetime by Daisaku Ikeda, 2007  

Powerful, Karma Changing PowerPrayer - great for a toso or anytime!

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Yesterday, as I was chanting a four hour toso, a PowerPrayer came into my mind to share with you. I was chanting so much because Ben is in the hospital 8 hours from me, and I have a big speech at the Care Manager's conference this Thursday. I want to be sure I am at my absolute best in order to to forward the progress of my life, and inspire those around me with my words of hope and encouragement. I speak about all the new research that show life gets better as we age. I tell people about the groundbreaking work of Ellen Langer, Beca Levy, Christiane Northrup and more. 

First, some quotes by our mentor, Daisaku Ikeda on Daimoku:

"The air around us is filled with radio waves of various frequencies. While these are invisible, a television set can collect them and turn them into visible images. The practice of chanting daimoku to the Gohonzon aligns the rhythm of our own life with the world of Buddhahood in the universe. it "tunes" our lives, so to speak, so that we can manifest the world of Buddhahood in our very beings."
Faith in Action, page 118.

"Everything becomes a source of value, everything is brought to life, when we base ourselves on daimoku.  The Daishonin teaches that myo in Nam-myoho-renge-kyo means "to revive, to return to life." Nam-myoho-renge-kyo rejuvenates all knowledge; it revitalizes our daily lives."
Faith in Action, page 118.

PowerPrayer for a Powerful Toso 
You can use at any time 
Powerprayers are thoughts 
to bring to mind while chanting.
..fresh determinations to fuel our daimoku
By JamieLeeSilver of Chantforhappiness.com

Life!
This Daimoku this very second
This Daimoku is impacting my life
and ALL of life 
Forever! 
This moment, 
with this Nam-myoho-renge-kyo 
I am yanking out the root 
of any karma that causes me to suffer. 
I am forever alleviating the source of my suffering...
even if I don't know what that source is. 
I am changing myself...
doing my own human revolution
right now
I am lighting the way for others to do the same. 
My OWN Daimoku is enough! 
My own Buddha Nature is infinite 
with immeasurable power! 
I determine that my prayer here today 
will be THE Prayer
to dynamically bring to an end 
all suffering anywhere 
throughout the universe and all of life. 
As I am chanting, 
my Daimoku pinpoints the exact 
thoughts, 
words, 
and actions 
I think, 
speak, 
or do, 
that are not serving my highest good 
and I invite my wisdom 
to change these to the 
BEST actions, 
Best words 
Best thoughts! 
I chant to uncover and release 
any limited beliefs 
and replace them with beliefs 
that dynamically move me 
and all of life forward,into absolute happiness, 
deepest love for myself and others, 
radiant health and prosperity for all. 

I chant to change in any way 
that will help me to alleviate the unhappiness of __________________and for their life to shine in every way. 
I chant for all my friends and all my fellow members throughout the world to experience absolute happiness!

I have these specific intentions and goals:
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

11 Tips for Chanting Joyfully for Longer Times

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Today I'm going to do a Daimoku Toso. I'm joining with a friend and chanting for many hours - (3 at least). 
Join me if you can! 

When I first began chanting, a leader told me our lives and our karma can be compared to a glass with dirt at the bottom. The dirt represents the karma that exists inside our lives. She said when you start to chant you stir up that dirt and see it swirling around...and if you want to really dig deep and clear it out, you might want to chant a Daimoku Toso (chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo for an hour or longer). 

Note: No one ever HAS to chant a long toso. Please don't think you are not a "good" Buddhist if you don't want to, or can't chant for long periods of time. There is no prescription for chanting. We just do our best! I do tosos when I have huge challenges, or to join the SGI when we are having big movements. The longest I ever chanted was 12 hours before the 2010 Rock the Era events for the youth division. Three youth division joined my district in the following month!

As always, these are my insights. I'm an enthusiastic SGI member, but I don't represent the SGI in an official capacity in this blog. 

11 Tips for Chanting Joyfully 

for Longer Times:

From Chantforhappiness.com by Jamie Lee Silver - If you share this, please make sure to have chantforhappiness.com in the post

1. Give Yourself Some Credit! Go YOU! 
Realize that what you are about to do...chanting longer than usual ~ doing a Daimoku Toso ("Toso" is usually used for chanting one hour or longer) has profound significance for your life. Give yourself credit for this worthy goal. 

2. Write your goal or goals. 
(Some of these goals may occur to you naturally as you're chanting) You may want to write yourself a Power Prayer connected to the greater good...to the real difference you want to make in the world. 

Remember that you are a precious votary of the Lotus Sutra and when you break through, the energy is forever changed. You are paving the way for others to break through ~ Your Happiness is IMPORTANT! 

Example of a goal/determination/PowerPrayer:

"I am determined to have the most beautiful, loving relationship so that I can totally inspire other people that great relationships are possible ...I can show actual proof with my life, and be able to introduce others to this practice!" 

President Ikeda's guidance says you can chant to have 10,000 times more power in your prayer. So I usually dedicate some time to chanting to increase the power of my daimoku by 10,000 times! 

3. Have your favorite drinks close by.
...tea...water...soft drinks...whatever you like. 

4. DEMAND your results! YOU are the Buddha! 
Do not beg favors from a 'higher power." You are the higher power. Remember, the Gohonzon cannot get down off the wall and do the Buddha's work in the world. YOU are the Gohonzon; it is inside your life. The Gohonzon is a reflection of the highest life condition that exists within your own life. So when you are chanting CLAIM what is yours! Tell your life what you want. And know that all real change comes from within. 

5. Chant to change to do your own Human Revolution.
When we change, our environment changes. 
Take responsibility for your life...not blame. Realize whatever you are going through, whatever is causing you to chant...it's your karma..not your FAULT. Chant to reach the root of that karma and pull it out of your life. THEN your life circumstances and environment will change to reflect it. You don't have to figure out the deeper cause, don't worry about getting it right. Just chant to change it! 

6. Keep Your Favorite Buddhist Study Material Close by
...whatever touches your heart when you read it. And if you find yourself losing focus open it up to any page you want. I have "For Today and Tomorrow" next to me right now. I just opened it for you right now...I read "When we chant sonorous Daimoku, the sun rises in our hearts. We are filled with power. Compassion wells forth. Our lives are lit with joy. Our wisdom shines. All Buddhas and Buddhist deities throughout the universe go to work on our behalf. Life becomes exhilarating." Read your passage and get right back to chanting!!!

7. Invite others to chant with you! 

8. Have pen and paper handy. 
You'll want to write down those brilliant ideas that come into your mind while you're chanting. You'll also want to write down some of those pesky thoughts and reminders that keep coming back...things like "remember to buy dog food." Just write it down and eject it from your brain so you can focus on what really matters.

9. Take care of your body 
You may want to get up and stretch at the end of every hour. Keep fruit or a snack at hand for an hourly break. Put your electronics away. You are dedicating this time. It takes energy not to dilute it, and it is so important to stay focused! 

10. After you chant, write in your journal.

11. Welcome Obstacles!
Bear in mind, some obstacles might arise after your toso. And just say 
"Hello obstacles! I was expecting you!" 
When you take on the mission to change your karma for yourself and others you can compare it to turning your speedboat to HIGH. The faster you go, the more resistance you feel. 

Above all - Don't give up! You CAN change your problems into benefits. You ARE the Buddha! 

I am chanting for you to accomplish your goals and shine with happiness. But your prayers are the most important! 

If you are using the PowerPrayers please let me know how they are working for you! Email me at chantforhappiness@gmail.com

I'd love to hear from those of you who have connected to the SGI through my blog!
I am sharing your stories with Daisaku Ikeda, Sensei.

Email me at chantforhappiness@gmail.com 

4 Tips for a Powerful Gongyo - Powerful Gongyo = Powerful Life!

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Perfecting our daily recitation of Gongyo and Daimoku is the spiritual work-out for the interior of our lives, this work-out makes our environments (our world at every moment, and all the people and things and EVERYTHING in it) flow smoothly...and we can accomplish our goals and live fulfilling lives.  

This morning I was thinking about Shakyamuni meditating under the Bodhi Tree. He was assailed by many inner demons to make him stop or to throw off his meditation. 
He kept focused. He won. 
Our practice of Gongyo every day is just like this. 
We are the Buddha! 
Every day - twice a day!  
We must win! 

Our concentration will pay off. Doing gongyo with the following guidelines has brought me great benefit. 
(As always ~ these writings are mine, and come from my heart to yours.)

4 Tips for a Powerful Gongyo
Don't just "do" Gongyo. Feel it. Experience it.
by Jamie Lee Silver at chantforhappiness.com 

1. Pray each silent prayer with all your heart. 

Elevate the moment from reading to praying! 

Read each silent prayer over and over until you can actually feel the appreciation. Read the silent prayers until they sink in...and you are praying in appreciation. If you don't know why Nichiren Daishonin and the three presidents deserve your praise, please ask a fellow member and study the history of Nichiren Buddhism and the Soka Gakkai. (Clink the link to the right to find your local SGI group) It took tremendous conviction and courage to bring this practice to us today! 
During these prayers, I bring forth the gratitude I feel for having this practice in my life.   

2. Begin and end Gongyo 
                     with no interruptions. 

I recite the silent prayers at the end of Gongyo soon after the recitation...not after finishing all my daimoku for the morning. This makes it easier to do a complete gongyo before I get up to do something else, or refresh my drink or whatever. I start and complete gongyo. Boom. Then I can do as much daimoku as I want, with gongyo done. Complete. With no interruptions. If I get interrupted in the middle of gongyo I begin again! I see this helping me complete things in my life on a much more regular basis. 

3. Chant every morning and evening. 

I know, I know, you've heard this before. The reason I keep repeating this message is that it WORKS! When we do gongyo twice a day our lives get on a roll. You have to experience it to see it! I can't tell you how it feels. I can tell you that one of my YWD (young woman) finally began chanting twice a day (after refusing to do this for two years) she was able to realize a hidden goal, bring it to the surface, chant about it, and now she's living her dream in Colorado. Chanting twice a day WORKS! 

4. Perfect Your Rhythm 
              and Pronunciation of Gongyo

In the early days of my practice I was fortunate to have a leader who believed that perfecting gongyo was important. So I showed up at her house to fine-tune the rhythm and pronunciation. Find a mentor in your SGI circle who can work with you. I would bring a pencil and circle the parts I found difficult, and highlight my mistakes. I turned it from a chore into a song. 
I love teaching gongyo to beginners because it is easier to learn it right the first time, but not impossible to fix. Having perfect gongyo has always given me confidence. I'd like to hear your stories of how perfecting your gongyo changes your life. Everything we do to enhance our practice is reflected in our lives. Gongyo and Daimoku are our laboratory where we create the lives of our dreams! 
One of the things I will do for you is create an echo gongyo lesson. I'll let you know when that's ready for you! But please don't wait - get started perfecting your gongyo now! 


I'm interested in hearing how you are perfecting your gongyo! 
Doing Gongyo is like lifting spiritual weights. how strong can we make our lives? 
That's what we're talking about! 
Email me at chantforhappiness@gmail.com

What Does Nam-myoho-renge-kyo Mean?

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What does Nam-myoho-renge-kyo mean, 

and why do we chant it? 

One of the translations is:

"I fuse my life 

with the mystic law of cause and effect 

through sound vibration." 

a more literal translation is 

"I devote my life to the mystic law 
of the lotus (symbolizing cause and effect) sutra" 

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo  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 have the entire universe within them...and we can access this immeasurable power chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and  calling it forth in our lives. 

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. Everything possesses this connectedness...this rhythm.  It is all encompassing and contains the wisdom and energy of all of life itself...the whole universe. 

And when we chant, we tap into that energy and access it for our lives...directed towards our desires. In this practice, it's okay to have desires. When I was searching for this practice I found many forms of Buddhism that said our desired are the cause of our suffering, and that if we can alleviate our attachment to our desires we can become happy. In Nichiren Buddhism we don't have to alleviate our desires to become happy. Desires make us who we are and cause us to chant. 

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 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 emotions and a level of internal happiness and strength that cannot be blown away by any event or obstacles. In fact we view obstacles 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. That's right, anything. 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 chant for ourselves, 
We chant for others, 
We chant for kosen-rufu - a world of peace and respect! 

The challenge is...we have to DO it. We have to chant to bring all this rhythm and harmony about. 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. (You can click on the link at the right to connect with the SGI in your area.)

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  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. 

Some Powerful Quotes 
from Daisaku Ikeda:

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 a
nd 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 the 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.

Write me at chantforhappiness@gmail.com. I am currently collecting experiences from chantforhappiness.com readers who have been inspired by this blog to connect or reconnect to the SGI, or who have achieved victories and/or been inspired by these writings. You are all my awesome friends!  

4 Ways to Find the Benefit in ANYTHING!

My Champion - Ben 

"Viewing events and situations in a positive light is important. The strength, wisdom and cheerfulness that accompany such an attitude lead to happiness. To regard everything in a positive light or with a spirit of goodwill, however, does not mean being foolishly gullible and allowing people to take advantage of our good nature. It means having the wisdom and perception to actually move things in a positive direction by seeing things in their best light, while all the time keeping our eyes firmly focused on reality."

For Today and Tomorrow by Daisaku IkedaPage 29.

I just finished a powerful hour of Daimoku from my heart to the heart of my son, Benjamin Lee Silver. As some of you know, he has been battling schizophrenia for the past two years. Yesterday he was sent from the Hopewell community in Ohio (our great benefit to find this wonderful place for him) to the hospital - all about 8 hours from where I am. 

This morning my first prayer was one of appreciation. I love the quote I posted above. We can, even in our most challenging moments, find the light. I am a fortunate woman indeed, to have a son who makes me chant such powerful and focused Daimoku! He is my great benefit. My Daimoku, guidance from seniors, and study have led me to this point. I am so grateful for this practice!

How can we all feel fortunate...remain cheerful...and find the benefit in anything? 

Here are my 

4 Ways to Find the Benefit in Anything
by Jamie Lee Silver from Chantforhappiness.com

1. It sounds obvious - but "take it to the Gohonzon." Go to the Gohonzon, sit down, put your hands together, chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and be real. Tell your life (the Gohonzon) how you feel. There is no need to pretend anything or be different than we are. We are Buddhas when we are happy. We are Buddhas when we are sad. Tell your life how you feel, then move on and: 

2. While chanting, ask yourself if you can find the benefit in this situation. Chant to find the benefit. It is there. There are many times I have had to chant to somehow be able to appreciate a challenge. You will begin to see the benefit. You might want to have a journal nearby to record your thoughts. 

3. Get guidance in faith. Develop a relationship with someone who inspires you. This takes Daimoku and intention. And it is each of our responsibility to cultivate these relationships. Chant to find someone who inspires you! Chant to connect with them. Chant to connect with someone who has the heart of our mentor Daisaku Ikeda. Chant to have the heart of our mentor yourself! Read his words with the spirit of connecting with the spirit behind the words. (For people new to the practice, Daisaku Ikeda is the leader of the SGI, Soka Gakkai. He has spent more than 60 years dedicating himself to world peace through each person achieving their own human revolution  - happiness. Check out his quotes on ikedaquotes.org )

4. Write a list of all you appreciate in life. there are many studies that say writing lists of appreciation can alleviate pain, alleviate depression, and even extend our lives. Find the things to appreciate. And fill your heart with appreciation when you chant. 

If I can appreciate my son having this life-threatening illness, and keep going, keep chanting, and keep living my life to inspire others...there is no end to what you can do through your Daimoku! 

Have a great, victorious day! 

Win in the morning and you win in life!