How to Feel Connected to the Shoten Zenjin All Day Long

I've had several people contact me about the new silent prayers, and the fact that we no longer have a specific silvent prayer to the shoten zenjin (protective forces of the universe within all life) at the beginning of morning gongyo. People have written me asking why, and some are not happy about the change. 

This change doesn't bother me at all and I'll tell you why. As always, I speak for myself, and as an SGI member  ~   I am not an official representative of the organization. I write this blog to encourage people through my own life experiences and insights. 

I don't know the reason that prayer is no longer part of morning gongyo but it doesn't bother me a bit because I address the shoten zenjin when I chant daimoku. I speak to them when I am chanting nam-myoho-renge-kyo. I thank them for their protection and ask that their protection be spread far and wide while I am chanting my daimoku. I always feel connected to them. 

I directly address them as I am chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo: "Thank you shoten zenjin!"...or "Shoten zenjin I need this right now!" or "Shoten zenjin, please send all your forces to this planet right now ~ we need you more than ever! Help people to WAKE UP and realize xenophobia and hatred is not the path toward peace!" When chanting I think "Let me be aware of the protective forces of the universe at all times and in rhythm with them." 

I am aware of their presence throughout the day. The other day I didn't see a car coming towards me, but the other driver was aware and didn't hit my car. I said (out loud probably!) "Thank you Shoten Zenjin!" When I drop a glove and someone calls out "You dropped a glove!" I think "Thank you shoten zenjin!" 
The Shoten zenjin are a part of my daily life, and they are a part of yours as well. All we really have to do is chant abundant daimoku and raise our awareness of them. 

We can be constantly aware that they are with us every moment. That doesn't mean we can be careless and take risks. President Ikeda says we need to be more careful because our lives are so precious!

On another note, I am compiling all of Ben's story - past, present and future. If my blogs about him and the struggles and triumphs we had have touched your life or inspired you - You can be a part of Ben's story. 

Please write me at chantforhappiness@gmail.com

Gongyo is a Grand and Noble Rite by Daisaku Ikeda

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Here is my favorite essay by Daisaku Ikeda that I have engraved in my heart. 
You can translate it using the translate button to the right. 

Enjoy!

Gongyo is a Grand and Noble Rite: 

"I would like to take the opportunity provided by today’s training session of the youth division to present a succinct and easily comprehensible discussion of the significance of gongyo. Because of the limitations of time I cannot pursue the subject in all its details, so I would like all of you to consider and explore this topic on your own afterwards as well. 

Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism teaches that our existence is identical to the universe as a whole, and the universe as a whole is identical to our existence. Each individual human life is a microcosm. 

The practice of gongyo is a grand and noble rite to achieve the vital communication to the microcosm of each person’s existence with the universe, based on the Gohonzon. 

The correspondence of each part of our bodies to parts of the universe is proof that our existence is a microcosm. Our heads are round like the heavens above us are round, and our eyes are like the sun and the moon. We close them and open them, like day and night. Our hair shines like the sparkling stars. Our eyebrows are like the seven stars of the Big Dipper. 
Our breath is the wind, 
and the quiet breathing from our nostrils is like the still air of the valleys and dales. 

There are some 360 joints in the human body
 and they stand for the days of the year. 
The twelve major joints signify the twelve months. 

The warm, front side of our body — our abdomen and stomach — is spring and summer. The cold hard back is fall and winter. 

Our blood vessels and arteries are streams and rivers. 
When we suffer a cerebral hemorrhage, it is as if a dam or dike has burst. 
Our bones are stones, and our skin and muscle are like the earth. 
Our body hair is a forest. 
Buddhist scriptures discuss in detail these correspondences i
ncluding each of the internal organs, 
teaching that our body is indeed a universe in miniature. 

There are clouds in the heavens. The wind blows, the stars twinkle. There are oceans on earth. The rivers flow. Volcanoes erupt. And great quantities of metals and minerals — gold, silver, copper, potassium, calcium — lie in the earth’s depths. 

The activities and qualities of all these materials are also incorporated in our bodies. 

The infinite elementary particles of the cosmos — atoms, protons, photons, electrons, neutrons, and all the rest — microscopic animals such as bacteria, the activities of good and evil, and the laws of gravity, the conservation of mass and energy, and all other laws of the universe also apply in almost the same fashion to the microcosm of our bodies. 

A look at the operation of our bodies suggests that they are great pharmaceutical plants. They have the capability to produce the drugs we need to preserve our health. They take in food and transform it into nourishment and energy. 

The human brain has the capability of a giant computer — even though we may not always be able to use it! 

The sixty trillion cells of our bodies work together 
in their established order in a perfect biorhythm. This is the original order of things. 

The Great Law That Pervades Individual Existence and the Universe 
Our existence is the universe, and its life processes are sublime. A slight change in the heat of the sun will enormously affect not only the Earth but all the other planets. If the Earth’s rotation were to stop for the briefest instant, or if its axis were to tilt the slightest degree, all living things would be threatened with extinction. 

That is how subtle the natural order is. And further, a firm and irrevocable law of the universe exists. This holds true for the microcosm as well. 

It is science that pursues this invisible but truly existent law, and technology is the invention of machines and other devices based on the fruits of scientific research. 

Nichiren Daishonin discovered and awoke to the great law of all existence that underlies all the partial laws governing all spiritual and physical phenomena, and it was he who revealed that law to humanity as Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. This Mystic Law applies equally to the universe as a whole and to each and every individual human existence. The universe and the individual are one in this Mystic Law. 

Under certain circumstances, an invisible law takes form as a visible existence. The individual human existence, for example, emerges out of its state of fusion with the rest of the universe by taking shape in the womb and being born in the world. 

A ship can be regarded as a tangible representation of the law of buoyancy, just as an airplane is a representation of the laws of aerodynamics, a radio or television program a representation of the law of electromagnetic waves. All of these objects give shape to invisible laws. 

The fundamental law of the universe and individual existence is also invisible. The Daishonin inscribed the Gohonzon as a visual representation of that Mystic Law for the people of the world. The Lotus Sutra and other Buddhist scriptures are the instruction manuals for the Gohonzon. 

Josei Toda, my teacher and the second president of the Soka Gakkai, explained the Gohonzon in an easily comprehensible way as "a machine to produce happiness." 

When we practice gongyo and chant daimoku before the Gohonzon, our individual existence is perfectly harmonized with the universe. 

Both the universe and our individual existence are the concrete manifestation of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo as is the Gohonzon. That is why when we practice gongyo and chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with faith in the Gohonzon, our existence and the universe mesh as perfectly as two gears, and with an initial creak begin to work together. 

The single life-moment (ichinen) of the individual becomes one with the three thousand (sanzen) factors and realms of the universe and begins to produce great value. This is the concrete practice of ichinen sanzen. 

Through that practice we can acquire wisdom and good fortune, 
and glow with the energy to overcome any obstacle throughout the four seasons, 
three hundred sixty-five days a year; 
we can enter the way to the eternal happiness 
and attain eternity, joy, true self and purity (jo raku ga jo). 

Gongyo is a practice 
which calls forth and activates 
the infinite power that the microcosm 
inherently possesses. 
It transforms your fate, 
breaks through any apparent dead end 
and converts sufferings into happiness. 
It creates a transformation, 
a revolution of the microcosm. 
It is a diagram in miniature of kosen-rufu in our lives. 

The kosen-rufu that is our aim is a movement to transform the universe, the Earth and human society into a world of peace, comfort and harmony in accord with the rhythm of the Mystic Law. 

The Practice of Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime, Which Leads to Eternal Happiness 
If you let an automobile or any other machine fall into disuse, it will rust and stop working correctly. You have to use it and maintain it regularly and properly. Why, the same thing is even true of the hair on our heads: If we don’t wash it regularly we’ll be encrusted with dandruff! 

Gongyo and chanting daimoku 
are like starting the automobile’s engine every day 
and driving in the direction of happiness and truth. 

By doing so day after day, you will gradually attain perfect unity with the universe and the Law. That state is the state of the Buddha. 

Once that has happened, you will be able to enjoy yourself with complete freedom for all eternity. Your existence will be a diamond that will never perish throughout the three existences. 

To attain Buddhahood in this life, the Daishonin warns us with firm concern that we must never retreat in our practice. 

Even though we may experience a period of sadness 
or depression, 
the principle that earthly desires are enlightenment 
teaches us that great sufferings 
are bound to be transformed 
into equally great joy, progress and value. 
There is nothing to fear, 
since the Gohonzon possesses 
the infinite power of the Law and the Buddha. 

We often say that strong faith, valiant and untiring practice and courageous acts are important. This is an expression of the truth that without a strong will and courageous practice it is impossible to achieve great things. 

You will not be able to communicate in a discussion with another unless you are clear and direct. If you lack the courage of your convictions and mumble vague things, you won’t make any impression on your listener. Nor can you strike a chord in his heart. And of course you will not be able to move or convince him. To do that you need to be very determined and sure.

Isn’t the same thing true of love? 

It’s certainly true in a job interview. Unless you present your thoughts clearly and forcefully, you won’t make any impression on the interviewer. In other words, mental determination and courageous actions can change any situation and they possess a critical capability to produce happiness. 

The Victory Song of Life Is to Be Found in Action 
To fly, a plane needs the extra push it gets by acceleration down a runway. To get good grades in school, you need the extra push of study before a test. 

Whatever you do, to achieve something better, to reach a higher level, you need a push. 

Buddhism teaches practice for oneself and practice for others. If either one is lacking, you cannot practice properly. 

The Gohonzon is the concrete manifestation of the very existence of Nichiren Daishonin, who taught kosen-rufu. Because of that, if you only practice gongyo and chant the daimoku and don’t take any other action for the sake of kosen rufu or improving your own life, the Gohonzon will not have its true, full effect. 

If, however, you take actions to achieve kosen-rufu, they will serve as that extra push for your own life and help you leap to higher and higher states of mind in your gongyo and chanting as well. 

And it is only natural that the energy you acquire through the gongyo practice for yourself will be channeled back into your activities for others, for kosen-rufu. 

The fact is that the practice of gongyo and your actions in service of kosen-rufu will become one, and together they will unlock the infinite power of the Mystic Law in your life. 

In Buddhism, practice is faith. That means action is faith, and without action there can be no true faith. The action I speak of is the way of practice for oneself and for others that is taught in Nichiren Daishonin’s writings. 

Action is the source of blessings and merits. In propagating the teachings, for example, whether the person you are presenting the teachings to arouses faith or not is his problem. The effects of our action of propagating will vary, depending on the person’s capacities and other conditions. 

There is no need at all to rejoice or lament over each effect. You can be proud that you have practiced the truest, most wonderful law of life in the universe to the best of your ability and go forward with your head held high. One who has acted for the sake of kosen-rufu is already a great victor in life. 

The words "the heads of those who cause affliction will be split in seven pieces" are written on the Gohonzon. 

This is a warning that it is wrong to seek to harm this law of your own being. 

Abandoning the teachings or slandering them are self-destructive actions that are bound to split you apart. 

We also find the words "those who make offerings will acquire blessings surpassing the Buddha’s ten names." 
This forceful statement tells us that the merits of one who make offerings to the Gohonzon and spreads the teaching will be far greater than the magnificent merits of the one who makes offerings to Shakyamuni Buddha. This is a promise that our personal microcosm will absorb the nourishment of all the blessings in the macrocosm, the whole universe, and be elevated to a state of existence of the highest happiness itself. 

Thus we know that the children of the Buddha who strive for kosen-rufu are each guaranteed to attain the ultimate degree of happiness. There is no one who will be more blessed. 

Faith in Present and Future 
"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 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."  

This essay is from the collected speeches of Daisaku Ikeda in "To My Young American Friends" 

Revised Silent Prayers ~ For SGI Members

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The full explanation of the changes to the silent prayers 
will be found in the December 11th World Tribune. 
I offer you what was given out at the Chicago Kosen-Rufu Gongyo 
meeting on Sunday, December 6th. 

We are no longer doing the prayer to the Shoten Zenjin 
at the beginning of morning gongyo. 
Now morning and evening gongyo are the same. 

Revised Silent Prayers:

Appreciation to the Gohonzon

I offer my profound gratitude 
and appreciation to the Gohonzon, 
which embodies Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, 
the essence of the Lotus Sutra. 

I offer my profound gratitude 
and appreciation to Nichiren Daishonin, 
the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law. 

I offer my profound gratitude 
and appreciation to Nikko Shonin. 

Chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo three times. 

Appreciation for the 
Three Founding Presidents

I offer my deepest appreciation 
for the three founding presidents of the Soka Gakkai ~ 
Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, Josei Toda, and Daisaku Ikeda ~ 
the eternal mentors of kosen-rufu, 
for their selfless dedication to propagating the law. 

Chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo three times.

Prayers for 
Worldwide Kosen-rufu 
and the deceased

I pray that the great vow 
for worldwide kosen-rufu be fulfilled
and that the Soka Gakkai International 
will develop in this endeavor
for countless generations to come. 

I pray to accomplish my own human revolution, 
change my destiny, 
and fulfill all of my wishes.

(Offer additional prayers silently here)

I pray for my deceased relatives, 
fellow members, friends, 
and all those who have passed away, 
particularly for these individuals: 

(Sound the bell continually while offering prayers)

Chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo three times. 

I pray for peace throughout the world 
and the happiness of all living beings. 

Sound the bell and chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo three times to conclude (if in a group chant in unison). 


Note: if you are not a member yet please go to the SGI-USA.org website to find out more (see the link to the right)

Akemi Bailey-Haynie at Kosen Rufu Gongyo in Chicago!

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We had a great Kosen Rufu Gongyo at the Chicago Culture Center today! 

I hope all of you were able to attend Kosen Rufu Gongyo today.
(Also called World Peace Prayer in some areas). 

My son Aaron came with me, and Akemi Bailey-Haynie spoke. 

I'm not going to write her speech word-for-word, but I am going to tell you what I got out of it, and I thought her message rocked. 

You know how I am always writing about how important it is to do Gongyo twice a day, and how our attitude is so important? 

Well here are some things Akeymie said that really made sense:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She reminded us that Sensei says:

"Our attitude towards gongyo practice 

is a reflection of how we live our lives."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Akeymie advised us to 

~correct our gongyo and become more sincere. 

~do gongyo every day twice a day

~chant every single daimoku, and every gongyo as if it is the last time we are ever going to chant 

~read from the book as we do gongyo

~read the silent prayers at the end...don't make them up. Do a correct gongyo. 

~put our phones in the other room and turn then off when we chant. No texting. No Facebook. 

We can do this, can't we? 

She said, (and I paraphrase): 

"We are living in very serious times. There's no way you can transform the basic core of your life if you can't do gongyo twice a day."

So I invite you once again. Let's all chant like we mean it...and do gongyo like it matters. It matters! 

Let's chant twice a day every single day, put our phones away, use our books, and get even more sincere than we've ever been. 

Are you up for this challenge? What's it mean to you? What are your goals...

Write them down. 

Let's win in our lives right this very moment. 

Lets get benefits TODAY that will inspire us, lead us to do shakubuku and change the world! 

Lately I am hearing from people who have reached personal goals through reading this blog and chanting. 

Write me or call me - I'd like to know! 

chantforhappiness@gmail.com

Jamie Lee Silver 630-926-3001

Chanting for a Harmonious Family

PowerPrayer for a harmonious Family
By JamieLee Silver

As Nichiren Buddhists, we know that wars begin and end within our own hearts. and I know from personal experience that we sometimes turn against the ones we love when we are really stressed and challenged. But we know, we really know, that the answer lies in our determination to create a harmonious family, and to change our own, and our family's karma with our determined Daimoku. (Chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo). 

I used this prayer, and chanted sincerely for a family member's happiness and totally changed years of struggle. 
If I can do it, so can you!

Daisaku Ikeda states: 

A person who respects others is respected by others in return. Those who treat others with compassion and concern are protected and supported by others. Our environment is essentially a reflection of ourselves.
From Ikedaquotes.org

Daimoku can change ANYTHING. It can change inharmonious relationships, and give us the courage and wisdom we need to make changes in our lives. 

With that in mind, I offer you the PowerPrayer for a Harmonious Family. You can read it before chanting to keep your determination fresh in your mind. We chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the title of the Lotus Sutra and the name of the rhythm of life itself. Chanting allows us to tap into the vast resources our lives already possess, raise our life conditions and become absolutely happy...possessing the type of happiness that is not swayed by daily changes in our lives.  Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the most powerful cause we can make for our lives. 

That's it! 

PowerPrayer for a Harmonious Family
by Jamie Lee Silver, chantforhappiness.com

Life!

I am Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!

I have the power to chant happiness and harmony for my whole family

With every daimoku I am picturing us happy

I am erasing years of karma with every Nam-myoho-renge-kyo

With every Daimoku I am summoning appreciation for my loved ones. I appreciate them more and more. 

For every fault, sickness, sadness, problem I see in my family ~

I chant to change this in MYSELF so that the karma of the whole family is changed! 

I am chanting happiness and harmony into my family

My prayer is enough!

I will not give up

I am tearing every bit of karma that makes any of my family members suffer - I am tearing that karma out by the roots. 

My family will never be the same. 

I will not give up!

I will have a happy family that will shine as a beacon of hope to all who are suffering. 

My chanting gives me the wisdom to communicate with composure and compassion. 

I am the Buddha!

I chant specifically for these outcomes:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

WE ARE the Buddhas of Absolute Freedom...

I know sometimes it's hard 

for us to believe that we are Buddhas. 

But it's true. 

Check out this quote 

from the Gosho "The True Object of Worship" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With full understanding of Shakyamuni's teachings, 
the four men of learning said: 

"We have gained the supreme cluster of jewels 
when we least expected it. " 

They represent 
the world of Learning 
that is within ourselves. 
The Hoben chapter states: 

"At the start I pledged 
to make all people perfectly equal to me, 
without any distinction between us. 
By now the original vows that I made 
have already been fulfilled. 
I have led all the people onto the path of Buddhahood." 

The enlightened life of Shakyamuni Buddha 
is our own flesh and blood. 
His practices and resulting virtues 
are our bones and marrow. 

...Shakyamuni, Taho, and all the other Buddas in the ten directions represent the world of Buddhahood within ourselves. 

By searching them out within us, we can receive the benefits of Shakyamuni, Taho, and all the other Buddhas. This is what is meant by the following passage in Chapter ten: If one hears the Law for even a single moment, he will be able to attain perfect enlightenment." 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I intend to engrave this passage into my life. During the hour I just chanted, I focused on being able to truly understand this and feel this passage with my life...not my intellect...but deep inside my life. 

Have a great day ~ Go Buddha Go! 

3 Keys to Releasing Emotions

This life is an emotional journey for me. It always has been. I cured myself of depression through chanting, but I still feel emotions. 
The more I practice Buddhism, the more I see that my ability to feel and release my emotions, not run from them, is a gift I can offer the world. And every morning and evening, I face the Gohonzon with all my heart...dedicating my life to proving the power of the mystic law through my life. 

Sometimes it's hard to actually know what emotion I'm feeling. Strong emotions just overwhelm me...and I have to focus to see what they are. Lately, I am in extreme grief after the death of my son this summer, at the age of 22.

Those of you who read this blog know how hard I fought to keep him alive, but, in the end, the mental health system in this country totally failed him, and he took his own life...I say Schizophrenia killed him...because it's the truth. 

So I am left with my mission...and I cannot change the past. How do I continue to show actual proof? How do I continue to encourage people? I think it is by living my absolute best life...by turning poison into medicine in some ways I don't even know right now. 

Key #1
Make a Chanting Determination 
Key #2
Make a Physical Determination
Key #3 
FEEL the emotion! 

For the moment, I'm focusing on making my body strong and healthy, focusing on business success...and building healthy momentum. Every day I do my best to chant two hours a day, and most days I make it...and some days I am just crying and chanting. 

Today I was frantic with grief. I felt I must have failed my son. I'm his mother. I should have been able to protect him. Part of me knows that this is absurd...and that I did everything in my power to help him. Part of me believes I failed him.  
So I took it to the Gohonzon and exercised my spiritual muscle. I sat and chanted, even though it was really, really hard today. I chanted until I saw Ben as the Buddha he is. 
His life and death have meaning. Some has been revealed already. Some we have yet to learn. 

Then I got on the treadmill and got my heart rate up...that always makes me feel better. Later I did EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) tapping and felt the emotion of anger and loss come pouring out of me. I let myself experience the depth of the emotion...and the anger ran its course and I felt peace. 

The 3 Keys to Releasing Emotions really work! 

I offer this to you on December 1st, when the holidays are happening here in the states, and emotions are magnified...
The best gift we can give others is our own happiness. It's the truth. The best gift I can give my family, my son Aaron, my sister Alison, and my father...is to go through my grief and get to the other side...and ultimately turn poison into medicine.