Powerfully Turning Karma into Mission

Every step 

you take forward 

provides the path 

for others to follow  

We have such an opportunity to help others when we realize, truly realize, that we own our present sufferings, and that by embracing them, changing them by intoning the powerful vibration of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, and challenging ourselves in assiduous practice and study ~ then we CAN and WILL change our sufferings into benefits for ourselves and others.   

It is truly a glorious mission 

that we have...

that we chose...

that we have the opportunity to challenge every day. 

Of course we can decide not to own our karma. We can keep blaming other people, or blaming the world and blaming our jobs. We can deflect our karma outside of us. If we blame and complain we will never change our lives. Now, if your heart is full of this type of complaint, you probably would not be reading this blog at this moment. No. You are reading this because you are ready to transform your suffering. 

As Guy McCloskey wrote in his article "Overcoming Suffering" published in the Sept-Oct Living Buddhism in 2010 (page 31):

"Although we may think no one else could be suffering to the extent that we are  ~ whether from depression, migraine headaches, cancer, AIDS or any number of other ailments ~ the fact is that there are millions of people with the same level of physical and emotional pain. " 

In the same article McCloskey quotes President Ikeda:

"Our actions in challenging our destiny become examples and inspiration for countless others. 

In other words, when we change our karma into mission, we transform our destiny from playing a negative role to a positive one. Those who change their karma into mission have "voluntarily assumed the appropriate karma." Therefore those who keep advancing, while regarding everything as part of their mission proceed toward the goal of transforming their destiny." (Living Buddhism, August 2003, p.14.

This doesn't mean that we just accept suffering as a state of life without a passion for overcoming it. As Nichiren Buddhists we do not believe in the inherent nobility of suffering, or that we should all become great sufferers. No. The point is to overcome our suffering, and elevate it to a mission, maybe even an honor, maybe even something we can appreciate along the way for helping us forge our brilliant and strong selves. 

That is what I did with my goal to lose weight. Some of you know that I was heavy most of my life, and lost and gained many pounds over the years, but kept a fierce 

Mission Power Prayer: 

I WILL WIN OVER THIS KARMA. I will transform my own suffering into a benefit so that I can show OTHERS THAT THIS PRACTICE WORKS, and that anyone can make the impossible possible.

No matter how long it takes, I will win! 

And I have won. I have transformed in many other ways as I have permanently lost over 50 pounds. I have increased my self esteem and my health has improved. I have strengthened my life force through this prayer. 

In the same article, Guy McCloskey quotes President Ikeda again:

"This is not just a matter of mere outlook. Changing the world starts by changing our fundamental state of mind, which is a key Buddhist principle. A powerful determination to transform even negative karma into mission can dramatically transform the real world. By changing our inner state of mind, we can change any suffering or hardship into a source of joy, regarding it as a means for forging and developing our lives. 

"To turn even sorrow into a source of creativity ~ that is the way of life of a Buddhist. Nichiren Daishonin teaches us this essential path through his own life and actions as the votary of the Lotus Sutra." (June 2005 Living Buddhism, pp. 39-40) 

And Mr. McCloskey concludes:

"If I'm going to suffer anyhow, then I will make it meaningful by transforming my suffering and helping others overcome their suffering." 

Precisely. This is the way of the Buddha, and the way to overcome your suffering and help others overcome theirs. Each of us is a pioneer in this land. We are each noble votaries of the Lotus Sutra. We are each Buddhas with our own missions.  

When you face your Gohonzon every day realize that your mission is deep, grand, and powerful. 

I deeply salute you, my fellow travelers in VICTORY. 

You Can Turn Any Problem into a Benefit!

You are an alchemist who turns everything into gold. 

Through chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo 

you turn every poison into medicine 

and infuse your world with love. 

No matter what your stuggles may be...no matter the pain...no matter the obstacles...YOU have the power to transform them and create medicine for your life, and for the rest of the world. 

This is the formula for kosen-rufu, world peace, and each of us are incredible participants in each and every moment. As I've often said, my prayers are no more important than yours are. We are all equal. 

How do you take a poison in your life and turn it into medicine? You realize that it is your mission to change it, and that it EXISTS just to strengthen your muscle of faith. If this obstacle is in your life you MUST overcome it. I remember growing up as a young overweight girl and thinking "I must have a mission to lose this weight and help others to do the same - otherwise I would not have this problem." I elevated my problem into a mission. 

And then, through chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo I had the intense desire to change my karma, change my circumstances so that I could show actual proof of this practice and help others stop suffering. 

Whatever you are facing, whether it's 

illness, money challenges, relationship problems, job challenges, anxiety, depression, worrying about others, safety issues, hopelessness, fear, anxiety, shyness, and anything else...

whatever you are facing you can transform it through chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. 

You just have to decide that you will do it. 

You must make a fierce determination, like you are climbing up a rock wall, that NO MATTER WHAT, you will get to the top. 

And then follow the 5 keys to a successful practice:

1. Chant every day twice a day.

2. Keep your determination fresh, and make sure it expresses your desire to show actual proof so you can help others.

3. Go to your Soka Gakkai meetings to practice with your fellow travelers and deepen your understanding and compassion. 

4. Help others to the best of your ability.

5. Study the writings of Nichiren Daishonin and Daisaku Ikeda.

Daisaku Ikeda says in Faith into Action on page 140:

"Life has the capacity like flames reaching toward heaven, to transform suffering and pain into the energy needed for value-creation, into light that illuminates darkness. Like wind traversing vast spaces unhindered, life has the power to uproot and overturn all obstacles and difficulties. Like clear flowing water, it can wash away all stains and impurities. And finally, life, like the great earth that sustains all vegetation, impartially protects all people with its compassionate, nurturing force."

You can activate this life force inside you at any time and transform any suffering into gold for your life. 

You can absolutely do this. 

We are all doing it together. 

I look forward to hearing your victories, fellow travelers. Write me at chantforhappiness.com. 

Julia and I are completing our book on Power Prayers. If you've used some of the power prayers, or they have strengthened your faith, please send me an email and you may be included in the book. More to come...

You can also go to the facebook page Chant for Happiness and share posts on your facebook page. Also, remember the translation button on the top right. Anyone can access this blog at the touch of a button. 

How to Chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo

(Periodically I post this passage about chanting for the first time. If you're new to the practice we welcome you with open arms. If you're strengthening your own practice I congratulate you. And if you are forwarding the post to someone who wants to try chanting, that is awesome. This blog can be sent to anyone who speaks any language. See the translation button in the upper right?)


Here you will learn how to chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo.

First of all 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 turned into other desires. So don't worry about your current desires. Chanting is progressive, both you and your desires will evolve. I know people who began a very rewarding practice chanting for things others might consider wrong or strange. One of my friends chanted for a month to prove to his wife that this practice doesn't work. 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. 

Chant for what is really in your heart. Be true to yourself. 

Click "Read more" below to see the rest of this post:

Power Prayer for Creating Positive Karma Every Moment

Every moment matters...

"If you want to understand what results will be manifested in the future, look at the causes that exist in the present." 

Daisaku Ikeda,  from "Learning from the Gosho, The Eternal Teachings of Nichiren Daishonin page 241.

I remember the first time I truly understood that quote. 

Previously, I thought of karma as being set and decided somewhere in my past, and that this life was just spent trying to cope and change that karma through chanting.

Then one day, I realize the importance of every moment and every thought... every feeling...every action at every moment...these were determining my future happiness. 
Life is cause and effect. The law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo encompasses this fact. Chanting this law IS the highest possible cause we can make for our happiness...but every other cause also matters. 

That's when I began chanting the Power Prayer for every action:

Power Prayer for Creating 
Good Fortune and 
Good Karma 
at Every Moment

I chant that every thought I have, every action I take, every word I say and think will be infused with positive energy and serve to change my karma in a positive and lasting way. Each moment I will power my life forward in a positive direction. I pray to generate positive energy for all those around me, and to live my life in total harmony with my mentor, Daisaku Ikeda...to see through his eyes, to share his heart for kosen-rufu. I am determined that my prayer will be 1000 times more powerful and expand to encompass the whole world...and for my every breath to bring every being in this world closer to realizing their own happiness. 
I'm determined to shift my thoughts from complaint to appreciation, and create good fortune every single moment of my life." 

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.