What does it mean to be a Buddha?

What is the experience of accessing your own Buddha Nature -
of BEING a Buddha?

I'll tell you a little about how I use this practice. First of all, I'm a person who has pretty extremes of highs and lows. I have always had these extremes...and of course they are GREAT when I'm high, and terrible when I'm low.
When I chant through my lows I can always see the light at the end of the tunnel...and I turn them around faster. My goal through this daimoku campaign is to raise the level of my lows!

Practicing Buddhism does not mean that you never have problems. But there is something about practicing that gives me fresh determination to conquer those problems. I know FOR SURE that not only will I overturn a problem, but I will create a benefit from them.

Let me give you an example.
Since I've begun this Daimoku campaign:

I feel more confident about my future.
I am experiencing a little less anxiety.
Some of the sadness has lifted...
I have a list of what I want to see happen in my life but I no longer have to "figure it out".
I know that every step I take is leading me closer and closer to what I want to see and experience in my life.
I feel more in rhythm with my surroundings. I'm sure you know the feeling of being in the right place at the right time...it is more consistent when I'm chanting this much.
I'm in less of a hurry.
I appreciate each moment more. I'm more "present"...not thinking of the past and the future.
I'm appreciating every person...I'm feeling more open to learning from others.
Each moment is a time to be appreciated...to be basking in...to have its own delights.

These last few days I have:
Learned more about some new dear friends...(and found out one of my new friends shares my exact birthdate and YEAR!)
Enjoyed myself at several fun parties...
Learned more about oil painting in my class...
Added a wonderful new person to my network who will help me give my speeches more often...
Laughed with my sons and my family... and enjoyed every minute.
I had a great time with my Mom, and am working out the kinks in her new living arrangement. More about that later...maybe.
And my Dad and Stepmom are here for a visit so we are all enjoying their company! (Thank you Alison (my sister) for hosting the party today!)

I even found the perfect purse ~ and that is no mean feat! It didn't cost a bundle and it will last a long, long time!
Some of these things were easy...others more surprising...some people might be able to relate to finding the purse. I am not kidding you when I say that I look at purses about once a month and never buy one. They are all too expensive or too big, or too ugly. Finding the right one is an art form. And no, I don't need a dozen...just one that feels right to me! And now, I'm good for a long time! Whoohoo!

The chanting itself has been such a delight. I get to sit and spill my heart and my love and my determination for two hours EVERY DAY! It brings me into such vibrational harmony that I am literally "walking on air". Now, don't get me wrong, but you don't have to chant two hours a day to experience benefits from chanting. When I first started I was chanting 5 minutes a day every morning and evening and immediately I felt my spirits lifting from that amount of chanting.
And I started because I leaned "Earthly Desires are Enlightenment!" See next post!

Your own Buddha Nature~You Buddha YOU!

When you're chanting daimoku (Nam Myoho Renge Kyo) so many great things happen...you're just in rhythm with the universe and every moment is a miracle. Of course, many Buddhists would say "There are no "miracles" in Buddhism ! it is cause and effect. You make the cause and you get the effect...and they would be right!

Since I've begun this chanting so many of my dreams have come true...I have a career I love, and absolutely amazing children...and every day I have a breakthrough or a realization of some kind...
Just this last week I worked with the therapists on my hip (where I have some pain I am releasing) and it's getting better and better all the time, and I KNOW I will conquer this pain. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Enlightenment and Buddhahood

First I want to tell you some basics of Buddhism:
Every person is a BUDDHA.
You can all access that Buddha nature or Buddhahood right here and right now. What is Buddhahood anyway?

Here's my favorite definition, from the first book of the Gosho, (letters of Nichiren Daishonin's) published in 1979:

"Enlightenment (Buddhahood) is not a mystical or transcendental state, as many might assume. Rather it is a condition of 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 is pretty amazing stuff.

Wait! You mean I don't have to be reborn a man? (As all the other forms of Buddhism at the time asserted) Wait, you mean I don't have to be reborn in lifetime after lifetime and suffer many austerities before attaining Buddhahood? (Also a very common belief ) I can attain Buddhahood without suffering? OMG!!!

This amazing practice, based on Nichiren Daishonin's writings, and the guidance of Daisaku Ikeda, which I like to call "Practical Buddhism" says that:

YOU, just as YOU ARE, can attain Buddhahood right now. All you have to do is chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. It's very simple...yet complex. You may think "What's complex about that? It sounds so easy...just chant that one phrase over and over again. Big deal." That's right. It's simple. The first day...and the second...but the more you chant, the deeper you look into the mirror of your life ~ and you may not like what you see...but if you keep chanting...oh the amazing results you'll begin to see!

A Million Daimoku...chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

Join me!
I chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo (pronounced Nahm Meeyoho Raingay Kyo)
It means - I fuse my life with the law of cause and effect through sound vibration, or I am one with the flow of life, or I am the Buddha myself! Chanting these words has a profound and practical impact on my life....and it can on anyone's life.
When you chant these words you tap into the eternal universe that's already inside you...the one you know is there, that you've always known is there. Chanting these words allows you to tap the great power you have always had.
On October 20th of 2009 I will have been chanting these words every day...twice a day for 25 years! Between now and October 20th I will be chanting two hours every single day. By October 20th I will have chanted a million daimoku (pron: diemoku, and it means chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo over and over) with a goal to accomplish many dreams:

Here are my determinations:
I wish to inspire others through sharing my heart, my struggles and my successes.
I wish to share the heart of my mentor Daisaku Ikeda (President of the Soka Gakkai International) with the world.
I will release my life from the underlying sadness I have always felt...the sadness that has no name and no real cause. I believe I was born with this sadness, and that it is my mission in this life to free myself from it.
I will have a body that is pain free! I will be able to move in any way I want. For several years I have been battling with a painful right leg. I believe it is arthritis, but I keep thinking I can solve the pain through some other means than surgery. I have never had surgery and never want to have it!
I will be on the way to losing the rest of the weight I've been challenged with my entire life. (I've already lost 50 pounds).
I will naturally attract opportunities that delight me!
I will make lots of new friends and connections!
I will become a published author!